Red Summer
by Forest Princess
Summary: When Mae comes home from school one day, she's in for the shock of a lifetime. Five years later she receives a mysterious text. How will this one little text determine the rest of her summer, and possibly the rest of her life? *RigsbyXVanPelt romance* *Revised chapters*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I started this fic quite a while ago, and I took it down, and now I'm revising and re-posting The first part of this chapter will take place probably right around the time the ****Grace joins the CBI. Enjoy! Oh, and I don't own the **_**Mentalist**_**, but I kind-of wish I did.**

* * *

Mae's bad day was about to get worst, it was Friday, of all days why did have to be a Friday? She was 13 and in middle school. She walked into her house after a bad day of school, hoping it would get better.

"Mom, I'm home," she called as she walked into the kitchen.

Usually when Mae got home her mom was in the kitchen getting dinner ready, but she wasn't there. Mae walked to her dad's office and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Mae cracked the door open.

"Dad?"

There was no answer. Usually Mae's dad was in his office. _Where could he be? _She asked herself. Both of her parent's cars were in the driveway, but where were they? There was only one other place they could be, their bedroom. Mae walked upstairs to her parent's bedroom. The door was cracked open.

"Mom? Dad?"

Again, there was no answer. Mae opened the door and the sight that greeted her was horrific. On the wall opposite of the door were two smiley faces made from blood, and on the bed were her parent's dead bodies. Mae froze in fear and her breathing became heavy. She pulled her cellphone from her pocket and called her aunt.

* * *

It was a slow day for agent Lisbon and her team at the CBI.

"I thought a slow day would be nice, but I'm all caught up and extremely bored," said Rigsby.

"Get over it, boring is a part of life," replied Cho.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"If we're lucky, it will be the mayor saying his wife has been assassinated," Rigsby responded.

"Don't get your hopes up, if we're really lucky, it will be the mayor who gets assassinated," said Cho.

Van Pelt picked up the phone. "Agent Grace Van Pelt."

"Aunt Grace, Red John, Red John, Red John!" yelled Van Pelt's niece.

Van Pelt pulled the phone away from her ear. "It's my niece and you all should hear what she's saying." Van Pelt put her niece on speaker. "Mae, calm down, and start from the beginning."

"Red John!" Mae screamed.

Patrick Jane, the team's consultant, slammed his book close and perked up.

"Mae, what do you mean?" Van Pelt asked.

"Two smiley faces in my parent's bedroom, their dead!" Mae wailed.

"Is the house torn apart?" Van Pelt questioned.

"No," Mae said.

"Are you still in the house?" Van Pelt inquired.

"Yes," Mae replied.

"Get out and stay calm, okay," Van Pelt responded.

"Okay," Mae said.

"All right, I'll be there soon," Van Pelt replied before she hung up.

"We're going," Jane responded.

* * *

After getting off the phone with her aunt, Mae went and stood outside and waited for her to arrive. Before too long the police arrived, they tried to talk to her, but she couldn't bring herself to talk, the only person Mae wanted right now was her aunt. She was extremely hysterical, and she couldn't stop crying. About fifteen minutes after Mae called the CBI, her pulled into the driveway and hopped out of her car.

"Mae," she called as she motioned her over.

She ran over to Grace and flung herself into her arms.

"Aunt Grace!" Mae cried.

"It's all right, I'm here," Aunt Grace said as she rubbed her niece's back.

The rest of the team searched the house and deemed it clear. Mae knew it was coming, but she wasn't ready for it, Agent Lisbon asked her what she saw. She barely got through telling her what happened when she got home. The whole time she clung to her aunt.

"Van Pelt, you two can leave if you want," said Lisbon.

"Do you want to leave?" Grace asked.

Mae shook her head. She didn't want to leave.

"Why don't you go lay down for a little while?" Grace suggested.

Mae nodded, and then went and lied down in her room for a while. About an hour after Mae lied down her aunt woke her up.

"This has officially been deemed a crime scene, you can't stay here," said Grace.

Mae nodded.

"Is there any one you want to stay with, a friend perhaps?" Grace asked.

Mae shook my head.

"Would you like to stay with me?" Grace questioned.

Mae nodded.

"All right, pack up, and come and find me when you're done," said Grace.

* * *

**5 years later**

Mae had recently graduated from high school and summer was here, and she couldn't wait to see what it had in store for her. One day she received a strange text. It read: "You don't know me, but I'm your uncle, meet me at the old Chestnut Tree Cafe tomorrow at noon. Your Uncle R.J."

"Aunt Grace," Mae called from the doorway of my bedroom.

"I'm in the living room," Grace called back.

Mae walked into to the living room where her aunt was sitting on the couch.

"Aunt Grace, I received this weird text, do you think you can trace it for me?" Mae asked.

"Mae, you know I can't do that, besides, it's not work related, but let me see it," Aunt Grace answered.

Mae handed Grace her cellphone and she read the text.

"Should I go?" Mae questioned.

"No, for all we know, the person could be a creep," said Grace.

Mae sighed as Grace handed her phone back to her.

"I really don't feel like cooking, call something in, the money is in my purse, you're limit is $35. I'm going to go take a shower, it was a long day at the office," Grace added.

The next day Mae went met her so called "uncle RJ" at the old, rundown, Chestnut Tree Cafe, which had been abandoned for years. She had the hood up on her jacket so he couldn't see her face, she also had a knife concealed, and it wasn't a wimpy pocket knife either, it was a hunting knife, and her aunt taught her how to use it too, that was one of the perks of living with someone who worked for the CBI. About five minutes after Mae arrived, an old, beat up, black car with tinted windows pulled up, and a man got out. The hood on his jacket was up so his face was concealed. The door of the cafe opened and the man who got out of the car walked in.

"Are you going to lower your hood?" the man asked.

"Are you going to lower your hood, and are you armed?" Mae questioned.

The man pulled back his jacket to reveal that he was not armed.

"I bet you are wondering how I'm related to you," said the man.

"Yes," Mae replied.

"I'm your father's twin brother," said her uncle.

"If you are my father's brother, then why weren't you at his funeral?" she inquired.

"I travel a lot, and I didn't get the news about his death until after the funeral," her uncle replied.

"Sure, whatever you say," Mae responded. She didn't believe what he was saying.

"I bet you're also wondering what R.J. stands for," said her uncle.

"Yes, tell me what it stands for," she replied.

"Two words: Red John," her uncle responded.

Mae gasped and took a step back. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to help me. I'll take you under my wing and give you anything you want, I'll rescue you from that horrible orphanage you must be living in," Red John answered.

"I'm living with my aunt," Mae said. She wasn't going to mention that her aunt worked for the CBI

"I don't have a sister," replied her uncle.

"My mom's sister," Mae responded.

"Oh, well, come and work for me and I'll give you all that your heart desires," said Red John.

"I'm perfectly..." Mae started.

"You can have your own apartment, or even a mansion if you so desire, you'll have more money than you will know to do with, you can have any pets you want, and any boy. You like a boy, don't you?" Red John replied.

Mae didn't answer his question, but there was one boy shed liked, ever since her Freshmen year, but she didn't know if he liked her. His name was Steven, and he was one of the most amazing people ever, he was extremely multi-talented, he can sing, dance, he writes songs and poetry, he loves to read, he played football, he was on the weightlifting team, and he's really nice, not to mention that he is extremely good-looking.

"There is someone isn't there?" Red John questioned.

Mae didn't answer but instead asked one of my own. "Why did you do it?"

"Why did I do what?" Red John inquired.

"Why did you kill my parents?" she asked.

"Your father threatened to tell your mother, I had to keep him quiet," Red John answered.

"So you killed your brother and sister-in-law?" she exclaimed.

"I do what I have to do, now you're coming with me," said Red John as he tried to grab Mae's arm.

Mae pulled out her knife and Red John stepped back.

"Put it away, you don't know how to use it."

"No, I will not put it away, and yes, I do know how to use it," she replied.

"Let me guess, your aunt taught you," Red John responded.

"Yes she did," Mae said as she started to move toward the door. She never took my eyes off Red John, and he followed her outside. "Just to be safe." Before getting into her car she slashed her tires, and then she ran to her car, jumped in, and drove off.

Soon Mae arrived home, and as she walked into the living room she saw her aunt and Rigsby making out on the couch, if it had gone on for about another ten seconds Mae was sure Rigsby's shirt would have come off. She cleared her throat. Rigsby and Grace looked up.

"Oh, hello Mae, where were you?" greeted Grace.

"No! Wait until I get up to my room," Mae said as she started towards her room.

"Mae, your aunt said you got a strange text the other day," Rigsby replied before she could leave.

"Yes, yesterday," Mae responded.

"Can I see it?" Rigsby asked.

She pulled the text up on her phone and handed her phone to Rigsby.

"Wow, this guy sounds like a creep," said Rigsby as he handed her phone back to her.

"Mae, where did you go?" Grace questioned.

"I went out," Mae replied.

"Out where?" Grace inquired.

"I went to go get some lunch," Mae responded.

"Where?" Grace pried.

"Burger King," Mae said.

"Let me see the receipt," Grace replied.

"You know I never keep the receipt," I responded.

"What did you get then?" Grace pressed.

"Chicken fries, union rings, and a Dr. Pepper, you know, the usual," Mae said. She was starting to become nervous, she hated lying to her aunt; Mae hoped she couldn't see through her lie.

"You're lying, you went didn't you?" Grace said.

"Yes, I went, but in my defensive, I was armed and he wasn't and I had to know," Mae replied.

"Mae, I told you not to go, but you did anyway, what if the person tried to mug, or heaven forbid rape you, what if there was more than one of them?" Grace responded.

"I took all of that into account, and I'm sorry, but I had to know, and I did learn a few things," Mae said.

"What did you learn?" Rigsby asked.

"Well, the guy really is my uncle," Mae answered.

"I don't have a brother," Grace replied.

"He's my father's twin brother," Mae responded.

"I didn't know your father had a brother," said Grace.

"Neither did I, I also found out RJ stands for," Mae replied, the last part slipped out.

"What does RJ stand for?" Grace questioned.

"I've said too much already," Mae responded.

"We hear that at the office all the time, I'm not going to take it from you just tell us," said Grace.

"No, really, I've said too much, if you were just family, then maybe I could get away with telling you, but since you both carry badges, I can't," Mae replied.

"Mae, just tell us," Grace responded.

"No, if I say anything else he's going to kill me," Mae said.

"You think that, or you know that?" Grace inquired.

"I know that," Mae replied. She instantly regretted it. When was she going to learn to keep her big, fat mouth shut?

"Mae, what does RJ stand for?" Grace pried.

She pretended to zip her lips shut and throw away the key.

"Rigsby, get Lisbon on the phone, tell her to bring Cho and Jane and to come here," said Grace.

"That really isn't necessary," Mae replied.

"Oh, look, we got her to say something, she won't stand a chance against Lisbon or Cho," responded Rigsby.

Soon Lisbon, Cho and Jane arrived. While Grace and Rigsby were busy talking I tried to sneak into her bedroom. She almost made it to the door when I felt a hand on her shoulder. She tensed.

"Sit down," said Rigsby.

Mae repentantly sat down in the living room along with Grace, Rigsby, Lisbon, Cho, and Jane.

Jane looked at Mae intently. "You just been scarred for life and traumatized and you've done something illegal, good job." Jane held up his hand for her to hi-five, and she did so quite reluctantly.

"All right Mae, show them the text," said Grace.

Mae pulled up the text on her phone and handed it to Jane.

"Well, this guy sounds like he know what he wants, and will stop at nothing until he gets it," Jane replied. Jane handed the phone to Lisbon.

"Mae, we're you hoping we could trace the text? You know we can't do that, even though your aunt is on the team," Lisbon responded.

"I explained that to her already, and I told her not to go, but did she listen? No, she went anyway," said Grace.

"In my defensive, I had to know," Mae replied.

"And also in her defensive, she was armed and he wasn't," Rigsby responded.

"Don't encourage her," said Grace.

Mae mouthed the words "thank you" to Rigsby, and he smiled and winked at her

Lisbon handed the phone to Cho.

"Creepy," said Cho.

They all sat there in silence for a few minutes, and then Grace broke the silence.

"Either you can tell us what we are thinking, or we can ask."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mae replied.

"What does RJ stand for?" Grace asked.

"I told you, I've said too much, if I tell you all, he'll kill me, because I already knew who he was before I met him," Mae answered, the last part slipped out. She was kicking herself on the inside.

"Mae, just tell us," said Lisbon.

"I can't," she replied.

"You're nervous," Jane responded.

"No I'm not," Mae said.

"Yes you are, you're smacking your gum, you keep shifting, and you're playing with your hair, all signs of nervousness," Jane replied.

"Is this person a murderer?" Lisbon questioned.

"Yes," Mae responded. Again she kicked herself on the inside.

"How many murders?" Cho inquired.

"I don't know how many exactly," Mae said. That part was the truth.

"Are we looking for him?" Lisbon pried.

"Oh yes, you're looking for him, especially since he joined the team," Mae replied as she pointed at Jane.

The room became deathly quiet. Instantly everyone seemed to get it; everyone stood up and started coming toward her. Her breathing became heavy. Rigsby and Cho were trying to block the way to her bedroom. Mae stood up.

"Stay away from me!" she exclaimed.

"Mae, we're not going to hurt you," said Grace.

"_**NO!**_" Mae yelled as she ran out of the living room and toward her bedroom.

Grace was at her heels, she made several attempts to grab Mae's arm, but to no avail. As Mae tried to close her door, Grace tried to force her way in, but in the end, Mae won out and locked her door. As soon as she was sure Grace was gone she flopped down on the bed and began to cry. They wanted to kill her, even Grace wanted to kill her; love only ran so deep.

* * *

Van Pelt went back to the living room defeated. She sat down on the couch next to Rigsby.

"Give her 15-20 minutes to cry herself out, and then one at a time try to get her to come out, wait about five minutes between, and when it comes down to the last one, she'll find it annoying and come out," said Jane.

"I don't want you anywhere near her right now," Van Pelt replied.

"Why?" Jane asked.

"Because I know how you are when it comes to Red John, now get out of my house," Van Pelt answered.

"But..." Jane started.

"_**NOW!**_" Van Pelt exclaimed as she pointed to the door.

Jane threw his hands up in surrender and walked outside.

"Go see if he's outside," said Van Pelt to Rigsby.

Rigsby got up, went to the front window, pulled by the curtain, and looked outside, sure enough, Jane was outside, but wasn't on Van Pelt's property.

"He's out there, but technically, he's not on your property, so there's nothing you can do," Rigsby replied as he came back into the living room.

"So, who's going first?" Lisbon questioned.

"I'll go first, she's my niece," Van Pelt responded.

"Fine, then I'll go next," said Lisbon.

"I'm not going," Cho replied.

"Oh yes you are," Lisbon responded.

"No, I'm not," said Cho.

"Yes, you are, end of discussion," Lisbon replied.

"It's settled then, I'll go last," Rigsby responded.

Cho looked at Lisbon.

"Deal with it," said Lisbon.

About 15 minutes later Van Pelt went to Mae's room and tried her luck.

* * *

Mae had cried my eyes out for about fifteen minutes when there was a knock on the door. She jumped and her breathing became heavy.

"Mae," said Grace.

"Go away," she replied.

"Please, come out, no one is mad at you," Grace responded.

"Leave me alone!" Mae cried.

"Mae, please," Aunt Grace pried.

"NO!" she exclaimed.

"What if I make everyone else leave, and we can order from your favorite restaurant, please, at least talk to me about it," Aunt Grace said.

"No," Mae replied.

For about another five minutes Grace tried to get Mae to come out, but she wouldn't have it. Finally, she left.

Five minutes after Grace left, there was another knock on the door.

"Go away!" Mae exclaimed.

"Please come out, we just want to talk," said Lisbon.

"NO!" Mae screamed.

"We're not going to hurt you, if that's what you're thinking, and I know you are, I give you my word as the team leader that we won't hurt you," Lisbon replied.

That what she said, but she didn't mean it, Mae could tell.

"Just go away!" Mae yelled.

Lisbon tried to lure Mae out for another few minutes, but to no avail, she finally gave up.

Another five minutes passed after Lisbon left when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Go away!" Mae exclaimed.

"Come on, come out," said Cho, his voice was deadpan as usual.

"NO!" Mae screamed.

"Come on, we're not going to hurt you," Cho replied.

"Just go!" Mae yelled

Cho made a few more feeble attempts, but they all failed.

"You know you can't stay in here forever, and you also know who is up next," said Cho as he left.

About five minutes after Cho left there was yet another knock on the bedroom door.

"Go away," Mae said; she was getting fed up with everyone trying to get her to come out.

"Not a chance," Rigsby replied.

Mae let out an annoyed sigh. "What do you want?"

"Come out, we're not angry at you, well, your aunt is, but not for what you found out, but because you went in the first place," Rigsby answered.

"No, I'm not coming out," Mae responded.

"Why not?" Rigsby asked.

"Because if I do, I know that you all will want to know every single detail, and I'm not willing to share that," Mae said.

"Well, if you figured that out all by yourself, then you are absolutely, positively, 100 percent, without a doubt, smart," Rigsby replied. Suddenly, her door opened. "But so am I."

"But...how?" Mae questioned.

Rigsby held up a bent paper clip, of course, he picked her lock.

"Get out."

"No, come out to the living room," Rigsby replied.

"If you think that I'm going down there willingly, then you have another thing coming to you," Mae responded.

Rigsby came in and started looking around her room. "Nice room."

"Thanks," she said hesitantly.

Rigsby stopped at her shelves and picked up a stuffed animal that had definitely seen better days, then again, it was Mae's favorite when she was little.

"Put it back."

Rigsby ignored what Mae had said, he looked at a picture of her and her parents, and he then looked down at the stuffed animal. "Your parents give it to you?"

"Yes," Mae replied.

"It's okay that you miss your parents," Rigsby responded as he came over and handed Mae the stuffed animal.

Mae took it from him and held it close. "That day is still etched in my mind."

"I'm not thrilled that we met that way," said Rigsby.

"That was the worse day of my life, at school, I had to deal with bullies, I got an F on a test, and I thought I did really well on that test too, and then to come home and find my parents murdered by Red John," Mae replied.

"I can only imagine how hard it must have been on you," Rigsby responded.

"And then to find out that the man who killed my parents is my uncle," Mae said.

"I know, it must be hard, now come on, come out to the living room," Rigsby replied.

"No," Mae responded.

Rigsby went over to the window. "Fine, if you don't come down, I'll send him in."

"Who?" Mae inquired.

Rigsby motioned for her to join him at the window, and she did. Mae looked out the window and saw Jane standing on the sidewalk, he waved at them.

"Please, no," Mae said.

"Come down, or else you'll have some one on one time with him," replied Rigsby.

"Can I have five minutes to make myself presentable?" Mae asked.

"I suppose, but if you're not out in five minutes, I'm sending him in," Rigsby answered.

"I'll be down, I promise," Mae responded.

"You better be," said Rigsby as he left.

Five minutes later Mae walked out of her room, and just as she entered the living room, Jane walked into the apartment. Mae glared at him.

"Well, someone's touchy," said Jane.

"Mae, what happened?" Lisbon asked.

Mae told them everything, from the text she received to when she drew my knife on Red John.

"Earlier Jane mentioned that you did something illegal, what was it?" Lisbon replied.

"I slashed his tires," Mae responded.

"Mae, you know you can be arrested for that, right?" Lisbon questioned.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but in my defensive, I didn't want him following me, and besides, do you really think that a mass murderer is going to press charges for slashing tires?" Mae said.

"No, but he might," Lisbon replied.

Suddenly, Mae's phone vibrated.

"If it's one of your friends, tell them you will talk to them later," responded Grace.

"Okay," Mae said. She opened my phone and saw that I had received a text message, the text was from Red John. It read: "I don't appreciate that you slashed my tires you brat, but it just shows that you got what it takes. I want you to know that you can't avoid me forever, I will get you, you will be mine. R.J." Mae's hand began to shake.

"What does it say?" Grace asked.

Mae handed her phone to Grace, and she read the text.

"Oh, my word," said Grace.

She passed Mae's phone to Rigsby, and he read the text.

"Holy... Wow, he's serious," Rigsby replied.

He passed the phone to Lisbon, and she read the text.

"Mae, keep us posted, tell us anytime that he texts, calls, or contacts you in anyway. How did he get your number anyway?" Lisbon responded.

"Will do, and to answer your question, he's Red John, he has his ways," Mae said.

Lisbon handed the phone to Jane.

"I'm going to get him, if it's the last thing I do," Jane replied.

He handed the phone to Cho.

"Creepy," Cho responded.

Cho closed the phone and handed it back to Mae.

"What should I do?" Mae questioned.

"Be careful and don't go out alone," Lisbon said.

"Will do," Mae replied.

If this was the beginning of her summer, Mae wondered how it would end. For the rest of summer Mae was going to be babysat by her aunt and her CBI team.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after her meeting with Red John, Mae went to the mall. She was walking around, minding her own business when she bumped into someone. They both fell to the ground, and then Mae realized who she bumped into, it was Steven, the same guy she has had a crush on since her Freshman year of high school.

"I am so sorry," Mae said.

"No, it's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going," Steven replied.

"No, really the fault is all mine," she responded.

Steven helped her up and helped her pick up her things.

"Here," said Steven.

"Thanks," Mae replied

"To make this up to you, want to go out tomorrow night?" responded Steven.

_I have to be dreaming, somebody pinch me, _Mae thought. "Sure."

"Can I have you phone number and address?" Steven asked.

Mae gave Steven her cell phone number and address, and he gave her his cell phone number.

"Pick you up at six?" Steven questioned.

"Sure, that sounds great," Mae answered.

"All right, see you then," Seven replied.

"Bye," Mae responded.

As soon as she got home, Mae hopped on Facebook, and changed her status to: "You'll never guess, who I have a date with tomorrow night."

Seconds later an IM showed up, it was Mae's best friend, Amanda.

"Who do you have a date with?" Amanda asked.

"Steven," Mae answered.

"Steven? Steven Walker?" Amanda questioned.

"Yes," Mae said.

"How did that happen?" Amanda inquired.

"I went to the mall earlier, and we bumped into each other, literally, and he asked if I wanted to go out tomorrow night," Mae replied.

"Good for you, are you going to tell your aunt?" Amanda responded.

"No, I know how she is, she'll start asking all these questions, she'll want to know where we are going, when I'll be back etc. No way, I'm not telling her," Mae said.

"All right, well, got to go, talk to you later," Amanda replied.

"Bye," Mae responded.

The next night Mae started getting ready for her date at five, she was extremely excited, and she couldn't believe that she was actually going on a date with Steven. Steven arrived at her house promptly at six; she liked a guy who was punctual. Steven got out of his car and greeted her.

"Hey, how are you?" said Steven.

"Hi, I'm good, and you?" Mae replied.

"I'm fine, thanks," Steven responded.

As we were getting into Steven's car, another car pulled into the driveway.

"Oh no," Mae said.

"What?" Steven asked.

"You might want to get going," Mae answered.

"Why?" Steven questioned.

"That's my aunt and her boyfriend, and I don't want you meeting them right now, especially her boyfriend," Mae replied.

"Why not, is her boyfriend over-protective?" Steven inquired.

"Yes, and they both work for the CBI," Mae responded.

"What is the CBI?" Steven asked.

"The California Bureau of Investigation, it's like a centralized version of the FBI," Mae answered.

"Well, let's go," said Steven.

The date was very enjoyable, they went to Chili's for dinner, and then they went to a movie. After their date, Steven drove Mae home.

"I had a really good time," Mae said.

"Me too, would you like to do it again sometime?" Steven replied.

"That sounds nice," Mae responded.

"Good night," said Steven.

"Good night," Mae replied.

Once Steven was gone Mae went inside and tried to sneak into her bedroom.

"Hold it," said Grace.

"Yes," Mae replied.

"Where were you?" Grace asked.

"Out," Mae answered.

"With who?" Grace questioned.

"Amanda," Mae responded.

"That wasn't her car," said Grace.

"Her car is in the shop, it's a rental," Mae replied.

"Right, that's why when I called her about fifteen minutes after you left, she said she didn't know where you were, just that she knew that you were out, and then she made the excuse that she had something in the oven, which I knew wasn't true, because she hates to cook. Now, tell me where you were, and with who," Grace responded.

"I was out with Rhi," Mae said.

"No you weren't because normally you're not out with your other friends if Amanda isn't there. Now tell me the truth," Grace replied.

Mae didn't say anything.

"Fine, play silent, but you see this?" Grace pulled $100 out of her pocket. "Your allowance."

"You give her $100?" Rigsby asked in shock.

"A month, and about half of it ends up in saving anyways, which she is not allowed to touch until after she moves out," Grace answered. "You're not getting this."

"But..." Mae started.

"I know your weekly shopping spree is tomorrow, but you'll just have to deal with whatever pocket change you have," said Grace.

Mae sighed. She had only $5.

"And for the rest of the month, your curfew has been cut from midnight to 10:30, and you have to call me every hour after you leave to let me know where you are and who you are with."

Again, Mae sighed.

"And, no more texting for the rest of the month, you can't send or receive texts, if you receive a text, you can't open it, and you must delete it right away, and I will be checking your history, the only exception is if you receive a text from Red John, then you must tell me, Rigsby, or anyone else on the team right away."

_Could this get any worse? _Mae asked herself.

"And, your time on the internet has been limited to one hour a day for the rest of the month, and don't even think about trying to sneak in more time, because I will be checking your history and the amount of time you have been on. You better enjoy it, because come midnight all of this goes into effect."

Having her aunt working for the CBI had its ups and downs; this was definitely one of its downsides. Once more, Mae sighed.

"You know I don't punish you very often, so I when I do, I really lay it on."

"Good night," Mae said before storming into her bedroom. She slammed and locked the door behind her, and then she grabbed her laptop, hopped on Facebook, and changed her status to: "My perfect night just had the worst ending."

Seconds later and IM popped up from Amanda.

_What happened?_ Amanda asked.

_I got busted_, Mae answered.

_I'm sorry, your aunt called, and all I knew was that you were going to be out, I tried to be a vague as I could_, said Amanda.

_It's not your fault, but guess what my punishment is_, Mae replied.

_What?_ Amanda questioned.

_For starters, I'm not getting my allowance this month,_ Mae responded.

_But our shopping spree is tomorrow, and all the big stores are having sales, and you need a new wardrobe if you're going to go out with Steven_, said Amanda.

_I know, and that's not all, for the rest of the month, my curfew has been cut from midnight to 10:30 , and I have to call my aunt every hour after I leave to let her know where I am and who I am with,_ Mae replied.

_Harsh_, Amanda responded.

_That's not all, I can't text for the rest of the month_, Mae said.

_Crap_, Amanda replied.

_I know, and my time on the internet has been cut to an hour a day_, Mae responded.

_Double crap_, said Amanda.

_I know, I hate my aunt right now_, Mae replied.

_You might want to be careful_, Amanda responded.

_Why, is my aunt behind me?_ Mae inquired.

_He, not she, is behind you_, said Amanda.

Mae turned and found Rigsby standing in her doorway. "But how..." she said to Rigsby.

_He picked your lock_, Amanda replied.

Mae turned back to her laptop.

_He's reading over your shoulder_.

Mae turned and saw Rigsby reading over her shoulder.

"She's good," said Rigsby.

_Bye_.

_Wait_, Mae responded.

_Shhhhh_, said Amanda, and then she signed off.

Rigsby laid his hand on the mouse and began to scroll through the conversation. Mae slapped Rigsby's hand away and shut down the computer.

"What do you want?" Mae asked.

"I'm leaving, and I was hoping to get a good-bye," Rigsby answered.

"Good-bye," Mae said.

"I hoped you would be a little more appreciative," Rigsby replied.

"Why?" Mae questioned.

"I got one of your restrictions lifted," Rigsby responded.

"Which one?" I inquired.

"The one about your usage of the internet," said Rigsby.

"How did you get it lifted?" Mae pried.

Rigsby looked at her knowingly. "In an X-rated way."

"Of course you did," Mae replied.

"Now, say thank you," Rigsby responded.

"Thank you," Mae said.

"Now, tell me that there will never be another man in your life like me, and I'm the greatest guy ever," Rigsby replied.

Mae glared at Rigsby.

"I was pushing it."

"You want your good-bye, well here it is, good-bye, au revior, ciao, sayonara, adios, now, beat it," Mae responded as she pointed to the door.

"Good night," said Rigsby as he left. "By the way, how late are you sleeping in tomorrow?"

"I don't know, depends on how late I stay up," Mae replied.

"Okay, good to know," Rigsby responded.

"Good-bye," I said.

* * *

The next morning Rigsby came over.

"Is she still asleep?" Rigsby asked.

"Yes," Van Pelt answered.

"It's nearly 10," said Rigsby.

"I know," Van Pelt replied.

"Well, I think we should teach her a lesson about lying," Rigsby responded.

"What are you thinking?" Van Pelt questioned.

Rigsby grabbed a bucket and began filling it with water and ice cubes.

"Rigsby, no," said Van Pelt.

"What? She needs to learn not to lie, someone did this to me when I was her age, and it did me wonders," Rigsby replied.

"Don't you think this is a bit cruel?" Van Pelt inquired.

"No," Rigsby responded.

"She's going to kill you," said Van Pelt.

"No, she's not," Rigsby replied.

Rigsby pulled out a video camera, and handed it to Van Pelt.

"What's this for?" Van Pelt pried.

"Next time she chooses to lie, we can hold this over her," Rigsby responded.

Van Pelt sighed and shook her head, and then she and Rigsby went into Mae's room.

"Turn the camera on," Rigsby mouthed. Van Pelt turned on the video camera.

"On the count of three, throw back the covers."

Van Pelt nodded.

"One. Two. Three."

* * *

Suddenly, I felt the covers being pulled off of me.

"Huh? What?" Mae muttered.

"Good morning Mae," said Rigsby.

The next thing Mae knew she was cold and wet.

"_**COLD**_!" she exclaimed.

Grace and Rigsby laughed.

Mae looked herself over, and she was drenched. "What was that for?"

"Oh, just a little lesson in...actually, this is your punishment for lying," Grace answered.

"Turn the camera off," Mae replied.

Grace turned the camera off.

"Haven't I been punished enough?" Mae questioned.

"Where were you last night? Who were you with? Why didn't you call? Yes, I know were out with a boy. Do you even want to know what I was thinking?" Grace responded.

"Yes, I was out with a boy," Mae said.

"Who? What's his name?" Rigsby inquired.

"Steven," Mae replied.

"The one you have had a crush on since Freshman year?" Grace asked.

"How..."

"I've checked your Facebook history, but if it makes you feel better, I stopped after your Freshman year," Grace responded.

"We out to dinner and a movie," Mae said. She could tell what they were thinking: "Dark movie theater, one guy..." "Nothing happened, besides, I wouldn't have let anything happen anyway, unlike you," Mae assured, she muttered the last part to herself, and they heard her.

"Get dressed and come out," Grace replied with an edge in her voice as she walked out of the room.

"You're cleaning this up," Rigsby responded with the same tone as he walked out of Mae's bedroom.

As soon as they were gone Mae got up and got dressed, she would worry about the sheets later, and then she went out to the kitchen to eat.

Later that day Amanda, Rhi and Mae went shopping at the mall. They walked by Charlotte Russe and in the window, Mae saw the prettiest dress.

"I'm going to stop in and look around," Mae said.

"Okay, Rhi, why don't you go on ahead, and we'll meet up with you in a few?" Amanda replied.

"All right," Rhi responded.

Amanda and Mae went into Charlotte Russe while Rhi went on.

"Which one?" Amanda asked.

Amanda knew Mae all too well, then again, they had known each other since kindergarten. Mae pointed to a halter-top dress that was a medium blue, with light blue fringe around the necklace, and at the bottom, had scattered black swirls as the pattern and came to about the middle of the thigh.

"That is pretty," said Amanda as she went over to the rack.

Mae was waiting for Amanda to tell her the price, and she had a feeling that the price tag wasn't pretty.

Amanda took in a sharp breath. "Come here."

Mae hesitantly went over.

"The dress is pretty, but the price tag isn't."

Mae looked down at the price tag, the dress was $50, she sighed, there was no way she was getting that dress, and she really wanted to look nice for her next date with Steven.

"Go try it on."

Mae grabbed a dress and went into the dressing room; Amanda was at her heels. When Mae came out to show Amanda her jaw dropped.

"There is only one thing wrong with that dress."

"What?" Mae asked.

"Steven is going to fall over dead when he sees you it in," Amanda answered.

Mae sighed in relief. "But I don't have the money to buy it."

Amanda pulled $50 out of here wallet and handed it to me.

"Amanda, no, I can't allow you to do this."

"Don't worry about it, you can pay me back by buying my food next time we go out," said Amanda.

The following Friday was Mae's next date with Steven. When she went out into the living room to wait for him, Rigsby whistled at her.

"Where are you going?" Rigsby asked.

"Out," Mae answered.

"With Steven?" Rigsby teased.

"What's it to you?" Mae retorted.

Just then, Steven's car pulled into the driveway. Mae ran out of the house as fast as she could, Rigsby was close behind her. She quickly hopped in Steven's car.

"Hey," Mae said as she put on her seat belt.

"Hi," Steven replied.

"Steven, I suggest you get going, now," Mae responded.

"Why?" Steven asked.

"Because here comes my aunt's boyfriend," Mae answered as Rigsby came down the driveway.

Steven quickly pulled out of the driveway and down the street.

"How are you?" Mae questioned.

"Go-" Steven stopped short.

"Steven?" She inquired.

"What?" he said.

"Are you all right?" she pried.

"Yeah, I just...Why didn't you wear that dress on our last date? Not that you didn't look good," he replied.

"The dress is new," she responded.

Steven stared at Mae for a moment, and then she noticed that they started to veer off to the side.

"Steven!" Mae exclaimed.

"What?" Steven asked.

"Keep your eyes on the road," she answered.

Steven shook his head and put his eyes back on the road. "Sorry, I'm short on cash, want to stop by somewhere, and go on a walk in the park."

"Sure, that sounds fine," Mae said. Suddenly, Mae's phone began to vibrate. She pulled it out of her purse, and saw that it was Rigsby. "Hello."

"You are in so much trouble when you get home," Rigsby replied.

"Why?" Mae asked.

"You'll see," Rigsby answered.

"What do you want?" Mae questioned.

"I left a surprise in your purse," Rigsby responded.

Mae grabbed her purse, a rummaged through it for a second, and then she found $20.

"What's for?" Mae inquired.

"I didn't know if he was going to be man enough to pay for you, and not a word to you aunt," Rigsby said.

"Okay, thanks," Mae replied.

"See you later," Rigsby responded.

"You're staying the night again?" Mae asked.

"I'm at least staying until you come home," Rigsby answered.

"You better hope I don't tell Lisbon," Mae said.

"If you tell Lisbon, your life is going to be a living he..."

Mae quickly shut her phone and put it in her purse.

"Who was that?" Steven questioned.

"My aunt's boyfriend," I replied.

"Why did you go through your purse?" Steven inquired.

"Because he left me a surprise in my purse," I responded.

"What?" Steven pried.

Mae pulled out the $20.

"That's about how much I have, $20 isn't enough to eat at Chili's, but I think $40 is."

"Sounds good," Mae said.

After they went to Chili's they stopped by McDonald's.

"Sorry, that I didn't have enough for dessert," said Steven.

"It's all right, I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyway," Mae replied.

"Still, I think you deserve something," Steven responded.

Mae smiled. He made her feel so special.

"Reese's, Oreo, or M&M?" Steven asked.

"Resse's," Mae answered.

As soon as they were finished with their McFlurries, they went to the park.

"Oh, you're wearing heels," said Steven.

"It's okay, I'll survive," Mae replied.

"Dinner at Chili's, and dessert at McDonald's, I promise I'll make it up to you soon," Steven responded.

About halfway through their walk Mae took off her shoes because they were hurting her feet.

"Are you sure you won't get splinters?" Steven questioned.

"I'll be fine," Mae said.

Soon they came to a bench and they sat down.

"I think we're alone," said Steven.

"I've really enjoyed tonight," Mae replied.

"Me too, now I have something I need to admit to you," Steven responded.

"What?" she inquired.

"I've had a crush on you since Freshman year," he said.

"Really? I've had a crush on you since Freshman year," she replied.

"Are you serious? We could have gone out for four years?" he responded.

"Yes, but I always thought: 'why would a guy like you, want to go out with a girl like me?' You were so popular," she said.

"It always seemed like you were the popular one, you and your friends seemed to have so much fun, and I pretty much had the same thoughts you did. Well, now I have only one thing to ask," he responded.

"What?" she asked.

"Mae, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he questioned.

"You don't know how long I have been waiting for you to ask me that. Yes!" she said.

"Now, I have something I want to show you," Steven replied as he pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a bag, and in the bag was a box. Steven opened the box and in it was a beautiful silver bracelet.

"Steven, it's beautiful," Mae responded.

"I bought it in case we were to make it official," said Steven.

"It's for me?" Mae inquired.

"Yes," Steven replied as he took the bracelet out of the box and handed it to her.

"It's beautiful," Mae responded. She looked the bracelet over carefully, it was actual silver, not the painted-on kind, but real silver, and there was a crystal heart charm, if the bracelet was real silver, then she figured that the heart was made from real crystal. No wonder Steven was short on cash tonight.

"Flip the heart over," said Steven.

She flipped over the heart and engraved on the other side was: "M&S". "That's so sweet," Mae replied.

Steven took the bracelet and put it on her wrist.

"I was so worried that it would be too big or too small," Steven responded.

"It's perfect," Mae said.

"I mean, if you prefer gold, I'm sure I can exchange it," Steven replied.

"It's perfect," Mae repeated.

Steven and Mae walked to the boardwalk where there was a nice cool breeze.

"I hope you don't find me too rude for doing this," said Steven.

"Doing what?" Mae asked.

Steven backed her up against the railing.

"I hope it's not too soon for this, but I can't help myself," Steven answered.

Steven leaned in, and their lips touched, at first it was awkward, but after a moment they just went with the flow.

_No __wonder Rigsby and Aunt Grace do__ this all the time_, Mae thought. She just hoped she would never see Rigsby without his shirt. Suddenly, her phone started to vibrate and she pulled away from their kiss. "Sorry." She pulled my cell phone out of her purse and saw that it was Rigsby. Mae opened her phone. "Hello." Mae was nervous, but she tried to hide it.

"It's nearly 10," Rigsby replied.

"Oh, I'll be home, I promise," she responded.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"On my way," she answered.

"You better be, or else your as..." Mae quickly hung up.

"Who was that?" Steven questioned.

"My aunt's boyfriend, I think we should get going," Mae said.

"Why?" Steven inquired.

"I failed to mention that my curfew has been cut from midnight to 10:30," Mae replied.

Steven looked down at his watch. "Oh, yeah, we better get going."

When they arrived back at the house Steven and Mae got out of the car.

"This is cutting it a bit close," said Steven.

"How close?" Mae asked.

"It's 10:27," Steven answered.

"Oh, but I had a great time tonight," Mae replied.

"Me too," Steven responded. He leaned in and they kissed again.

In the middle of their kiss, the front door opened.

"Mae," Rigsby called.

She pulled back and looked at Rigsby. "What?"

"Get in here," Rigsby answered as he stepped outside.

"Steven, go," Mae said.

"Why?" Steven asked.

Mae shoved Steven toward his car. "Just go. Trust me."

"I'll call you," Steven replied.

Mae nodded; she watched as Steven got in his car and drove off, and then she went inside.

"Where's my change?" Rigsby asked.

Mae pulled the change out of her purse and handed it to Rigsby, it was literally change, and Rigsby just handed it back to her.

"Keep it. Go to your room, you're in trouble," said Rigsby.

Mae went into her room, kicked off her shoes, took off her earrings, and looked at her bracelet; she wasn't ready to take it off. Just as Mae was about to turn her laptop on, Grace walked in.

"Aunt Gra-" Mae started.

"Sit," said Grace. Mae sat down on her bed.

"Where were you?" Grace asked.

"Out," Mae answered.

"With who?" Grace questioned.

"A friend," Mae replied.

"You were out with him again, weren't you?" Grace inquired.

"Yes," Mae responded.

"Where did you go?" Grace pried.

"To dinner and then on a walk around the park," Mae said.

"Where did you go for dinner?" Grace pressed.

"Chili's," Mae replied.

"And he paid for you?" Grace asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"That's a lie," said Rigsby as he walked in.

"You're the one who told me not to tell her about the $20 you gave me," Mae replied.

"Well, that was before I called," Rigsby responded.

Mae sighed. "All right, so this time we paid for ourselves, but last time he paid for me."

"You know, you sounded like a deer caught by headlights, and he was bold to do what he did out in the driveway. The both of you looked too comfortable, like there had been some practice," said Rigsby.

"Nothing happened," Mae replied.

"Then why did you sound nervous?" Grace questioned.

"How did you know I sounded nervous?" Mae inquired.

"I put you on speaker," Rigsby responded.

"Of course, why would I expect anything else?" Mae said.

"Did he try to..." Grace started.

It took Mae a moment to realize what she was talking about. "No!"

"He looks strong, he could have easily overpowered you, no offense," Rigsby replied.

"Well, he was captain of the football team, and he was on the weightlifting team," Mae responded.

Grace eyed Mae's bracelet. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? Just a bracelet," Mae said.

"Where did you get it?" Grace asked.

"I've always had it," Mae answered.

"No, because if I saw that in your jewelry box, I would have borrowed it; actually, I probably would have taken it," Grace replied.

"So that's where half my jewelry has gone," Mae responded.

"Yes, you can get it out of my jewelry box later. Now, where did you get it?" Grace said.

"It was a gift," Mae replied.

"He gave it to you, didn't he?" Grace questioned.

"Yes," Mae responded.

"Rigsby," said Aunt Grace.

Mae covered her wrist with her other hand. "No." She struggled with Rigsby for her bracelet, but in the end, he got it off her wrist. Rigsby looked the bracelet over.

"Oh, my word, it's real silver, not the painted stuff, but actual silver," said Rigsby.

"Yes, I know it's real, and don't you bite it either," Mae replied.

Rigsby made a move to bite the bracelet.

"Don't you even think about it," Mae responded.

"And the heart is made of real crystal," said Rigsby.

"Let me see it," Grace replied.

Rigsby handed they bracelet to Grace and she looked it over. "You can't be accepting something like this on your second date, besides it's not like you're official."

"About that, we are official," Mae responded.

"Well then, we're going to have to officially meet him," said Rigsby.

"Trust me, I've already warned him about you," Mae replied.

"I'm keeping this until you're next date, when you will give it back," Grace responded.

"But..."

"I don't want to hear it, you can be accepting something this nice on your second date, something this nice is worth at least $50," Grace said.

"But we're official," Mae protested.

"I don't care," Grace replied as she walked out, Rigsby followed close behind him.

Mae hopped on Facebook and changed her relationship status from: "single" to "in a relationship with Steven Walker," and she changed her status to "my perfect nights are always ruined." Seconds later an IM from Amanda popped up.

_What happened?_ Amanda asked.

_Well, first of al__l, Steven and I are official_, Mae answered.

_Good for you_" said Amanda.

_Yep, an__d we also had our first kiss_, Mae replied.

_What was it like?_ Amanda questioned.

_At first it was awkward, but after a moment, it was amazing, and he also gave me a gift_, Mae responded.

_What?_ Amanda inquired.

_A bracelet_, Mae said.

_Send me a picture_, Amanda replied.

_I wish I could,__ but my aunt took it from me_, Mae responded.

_Why?_ Amanda asked.

_Because she said that I couldn't be accepting somethin__g like that on a second date_, Mae answered.

_Describe the bracelet to me,_ said Amanda.

_The bracelet is made from real silver, and there is a crystal heart c__harm, and on the back he had: 'M__&S' engraved_, Mae replied.

_Wow_, Amanda responded.

_I know, it's so pretty_, Mae said.

_Well, I'm going to go, and tell him I said hello_, Amanda replied before leaving.

Mae turned around and saw Rigsby standing in the doorway.

"What do you want?" Mae asked.

"I have something for you," Rigsby answered.

"And what do you have for me that could possible make me happy?" she questioned.

Rigsby came over and handed her a tissue.

"What is this?" she inquired.

"Open it up," he said.

"There better not be anything disgusting in it, because if there is, I'm going to smear it all over your face," she replied.

"I sneezed," he responded.

Mae dropped the tissue on the bed.

"Not in that one," Rigsby said.

Mae cautiously opened up the tissue, and saw a bit of silver sitting in it, and then she quickly opened it all the way. Sitting in the tissue was her bracelet. "What did you have to do to get this back?" Mae inquired.

"Don't worry, it wasn't X-rated," Rigsby replied.

"Thank you," Mae responded.

"You know you're aunt is just doing this because she's worried about you," Rigsby said.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm a legal adult," Mae replied.

"Guess what else?" Rigsby asked.

"What?" Mae questioned.

"I got the rest of your restrictions lifted, save for your curfew," Rigsby responded.

Mae didn't even want to know what he had to do. Suddenly, her phone began to vibrate.

"Hold up just one second, it's probably Amanda or Rhi," Mae said. She opened her phone and saw that she had a text, she opened the text and read it, as soon as she was done, she dropped the phone on the bed.

"Mae, what's wrong?" Rigsby inquired.

"You might want to read that," Mae replied.

Rigsby picked up her phone and read the text. "Grace!"

Suddenly, Grace ran into the room. "What?"

"We have another one," Rigsby responded.

"Let me see," Grace said.

Rigsby handed her my phone and she read the text.

"Oh, my word."

The text read: "_I hope you had fun, because your days are__ numbered, and the number isn't __very big either. You can't run from me forever, I will get you. RJ_"

"What type of world do we live in, where murders like Red John can run free and innocent babies are killed every day?" Mae exclaimed.

"What do you mean innocent babies are being killed?" Rigsby asked.

"I'm strongly opposed to abortion, and I don't get it, if someone murders a pregnant women, it counts as two murders, but if a pregnant women goes and gets an abortion, it's considered 'mother's choice'. I think that any woman who gets an abortion is just as much as a murderer as Red John. I mean, people like Red John should be put to death, but an innocent baby, who hasn't gotten the chance to live," Mae answered.

"I agree with you, and you're very passionate about this," said Rigsby.

"I'm going to go watch some TV," Grace replied before leaving.

Mae and Rigsby just looked at each other.

"I'm going to leave, but I am staying the night," said Rigsby as he left.

Several hours later, someone was shaking Mae and talking to her.

"Mae, wake up," came Grace's voice.

Mae moaned and turned over.

"Come on Mae, wake up."

She moaned again and brushed Grace's hand away.

"Mae, please, wake up."

Again, Mae moaned, she didn't want to wake up.

"Mae, Red John killed Steven."

Mae sat up. "What?" Her breathing became heavy.

"Calm down, Red John didn't really kill Steven," said Grace.

"What is it?" Mae asked.

"I need to talk to you," Grace answered.

"Can't it wait until morning?" Mae questioned.

"No, it really can't, it's a life and death thing," Grace replied.

"Lay it on me," Mae responded.

"Remember what you said earlier?" Grace inquired.

"I said a lot of things earlier, Mae said.

"What you said about Red John, and abortions," Grace replied.

"Yes," Mae responded. She thought about it for a moment, and then she realized that someone in the family had gotten an abortion. "Who?"

"What?" Grace questioned.

"Who in the family got an abortion?" Mae inquired.

"Someone in the family did get an abortion, but do you think you could ever forgive them?" Grace responded.

"No, I told you how I felt, on my list, that is unforgivable, and she is a murderer," Mae said.

"Well, then I guess you'll have to take me down to the station," Grace replied.

"What are you talking about?" Mae asked.

"About a while ago, Rigsby and I began to see each other on an intimate level, and about two and a half months later I woke up one morning not feeling well, I couldn't figure out what it was so I went out on a limb and took a pregnancy test, and it came back positive, I then went to the doctor, just to make sure, and sure enough I was pregnant. One day after work I made a stop at an abortion clinic, and about two weeks later, I took another pregnancy test, and it came back negative, no more baby," Grace answered.

"Aunt Grace, how could you!" Mae exclaimed.

"I was scared, I thought I was going to lose my job, I didn't know how I was going to support you, me and the baby. Now I regret it every day," Grace responded.

"Rigsby!" Mae called loudly.

"Mae, no" Grace pleaded.

"Rigsby!" Mae called out again.

Suddenly, Rigsby ran into her room, he looked like he was still half asleep. "What?" he asked.

"Aunt Grace has something she wants to tell you," Mae answered.

"No I don't," said Grace.

"Yes, you do, you know you do, don't deny it," Mae replied.

"Grace, what is it?" Rigsby questioned.

Grace just got up and ran out of the room crying.

"She has something very important to tell you, and don't let her sleep until she tells you," Mae responded.

"In that case, I bet you want your door locked," said Rigsby.

"Yes I do," Mae replied.

Before leaving Rigsby locked her door.

* * *

When Rigsby walked into the living room Van Pelt was sitting on the couch crying.

"Grace, what's wrong?" Rigsby asked as he sat down next to Van Pelt.

Van Pelt pushed Rigsby away. "She's right."

"Who?" Rigsby questioned.

"Mae," said Van Pelt.

"What do you mean?" Rigsby inquired.

"She's right, I'm just as bad as Red John," Van Pelt replied.

"Hey, do you want me to go have talk with her?" Rigsby responded.

"No, she's right," said Van Pelt.

"What are you talking about?" Rigsby asked.

"About two months after we started seeing each other on an intimate level, I woke up one morning not feeling well, so I went to the doctor and found out there was something there that wasn't there before," Van Pelt answered.

"Cancer?" Rigsby questioned.

"No, not cancer, a baby," Van Pelt replied.

"What?" Rigsby inquired.

"I found out that I was pregnant," Van Pelt responded.

"Grace, it's not your fault," said Rigsby.

"What are you talking about?" Van Pelt asked.

"That you miscarried, it's not your fault," Rigsby answered.

"You don't get it, do you?" Van Pelt questioned

Rigsby was confused.

"One day, on my way home from work, I stopped somewhere."

"Where?" Rigsby inquired.

Van Pelt hesitated for a few moments. "An abortion clinic."

"Grace, how could you!" Rigsby exclaimed.

"I was scared, I didn't know what you would say, I thought I was going to lose my job, I didn't know how I was going to support myself, Mae and the baby," Van Pelt said with tears in her eyes.

"Well, the least you could have done was told me!" Rigsby yelled.

"I'm sorry," Van Pelt cried.

Rigsby got up off the couch and stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

* * *

Mae was nearly asleep when the sound of the front door being slammed woke her up. She walked over to the window just in time to see Rigsby storming down the driveway, getting into his car and driving off; Grace must have broken faster than Mae thought. She went into the living room and found Grace lying on the couch crying her eyes out. She just shook my head. The next morning when Mae came out of her room she saw Grace sleeping on the couch, Mae shook her head, she really should be at work. Mae went into the kitchen, got something to eat and then took it back into her room. Not long after Mae was done eating her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was Rigsby.

"Hello," she said.

"Where's your aunt?" Rigsby asked.

"Sleeping on the couch," she answered.

"Of course she is," he replied.

"You woke me up when you left last night," she responded.

"Sorry," he said.

"I understand," she replied.

"Well, I have to get back to work, I'll probably be by later," he responded.

"All right," she said.

Mae spent all day in her room, and finally she couldn't take it anymore. Just as she was about to leave Rigsby pulled into the driveway.

"Come here," said Rigsby as he got out of his car.

"Hello to you too," Mae replied as she walked over.

"I'm not mad at you," Rigsby responded.

"I know," Mae said.

"Where's your aunt?" Rigsby asked.

"Lying on the couch moping," Mae answered.

"Lisbon wasn't very happy that she didn't come into work today," Rigsby replied.

"I can imagine," Mae responded.

"Where are you going?" Rigsby questioned

"I've been cooped up in my room all day, I can't take it anymore, I'm going out," Mae said.

"But you don't have any money," Rigsby replied.

"I'll window shop, I just need to get out of the house, but now that you mention it, maybe I will go back inside," Mae responded.

Rigsby pulled $50 out of his pocket. "You have two choices, either take this $50 without question and leave for a few hours, or go back inside and lock yourself in your room."

Mae snatched the $50 out of Rigsby's hand. "Thank you."

"I'll call you when it's safe to come back," said Rigsby.

Mae hopped in her car and headed for the mall.

Since Mae didn't find anything she wanted at the mall, she decided to head home. she hoped Rigsby would let her keep the change, which was about $40 since the only money she spent was on lunch. She was on her way to her car when somebody covered her mouth, and pulled her into a nearby alley.

"I don't know how you think you are, but you're not getting anything out of me!" Mae exclaimed.

"Hello Mae," came a familiar voice.

Then everything went black.

Mae didn't know when it was but eventually she started coming around she finally woke up the first thing she noticed was that her bracelet that Steven had given her was missing, and then she noticed that her hands were tied to a chair. Mae began looking around.

"Oh, glad to see you're awake," came a very familiar voice from the darkness.

Red John stepped out from the shadows.

Mae gasped.

"Looking for this?" he asked.


	3. Chapter 3

"Give it back," Mae answered.

"But it's of value," said Red John.

Mae let out a vicious growl.

"You're not going to be nice to me?" Red John questioned.

"Why should I? You've given me no reason to," Mae replied.

"You're not the sweet little girl I held when you came home from the hospital," Red John responded.

"I hate you, I hate your guts you bastard."

"Your mother wouldn't want you to use such foul language, let me guess, you picked it up from your aunt," said Red John.

She glared murder at Red John.

"Or your aunt's boyfriend."

Under normal circumstances, Mae would have admitted that Rigsby did have a bit of a potty mouth, but she wasn't going to in this case.

"Or your boyfriend."

"Leave him alone," Mae replied.

"Or even your best friend, what's her name? Oh, that's right, it's Amanda," Red John responded.

"Leave her alone," she said.

"You know, I was always watching you, even though you didn't know it," Red John replied.

"Leave them alone, they haven't done anything to you," she responded.

"But they're your friends, you must miss them, I could bring them here to keep you company if you want," said Red John.

"You better leave them alone," she warned.

"I'll do what I want," Red John replied. Red John looked over the bracelet. "Ah, how sweet, M&S."

"Give it back," Mae snarled.

Red John came over and was about to out the bracelet on Mae's wrist, but instead he threw it across the room.

"Hey!" Mae exclaimed.

"You'll get it back eventually, now you must be hungry," Red John responded.

Red John went and got a tray of food, that looked like it came out of the garbage, and set it on the table in front of Mae; he also set a glass of water that looked like it hadn't been filtered, on the table next to the food.

"You expect me to eat this crap?" Mae asked.

"You look hungry," Red John answered as he cut the ropes off of one of my wrists. "Or you can have this." Red John set a bottle of beer next to the water.

"You know I'm underage, right?" Mae questioned.

"If you want it, you can have it, you have my permission," said Red John.

"I'm not going to drink that," Mae replied.

"Next you're going to tell me that you're a perfect angel who will never smoke or drink," Red John responded.

"Exactly, those are nasty habits," Mae said.

"And now you're going to tell that you and your boyfriend aren't going to 'do it' unless you two get married," Red John replied.

"That's right," Mae responded.

"What if I tell you that as long as you live with me, you can go as far as you want with any guy you want?" Red John inquired.

"I wouldn't do it," Mae said.

"You know that you would want to," Red John replied.

"Yes I would want to, but I wouldn't do it," Mae responded.

"You say that," said Red John.

"And I mean it, and I mean it when I say: 'I hate your guts'," Mae replied.

"Do you believe that you should respect your parents?" Red John inquired.

"Yes," Mae responded.

"Well, then you should start showing me some respect," said Red John.

"What are you talking about?" Mae demanded.

"You know, it doesn't sear my conscious that I've slept with a number of women, your mother among them," Red John replied.

Mae let out a growl. "You monster, how could you sleep with your sister-in-law?"

"I had to teach her a lesson," Red John responded.

"You sicken me," Mae said.

"I didn't, and still don't, mind that I taught her a lesson for about a week," Red John replied.

"Did my father know?" Mae asked.

"No, your mother threatened to tell, but let's just say, I wouldn't let her," Red John answered.

"I hate you," Mae responded.

"And about two and a half months later, your mother finds out that she's pregnant with you," said Red John.

_I hate his guts, I want to kill him! _Mae thought.

"Oh, I remember that day as if it happened yesterday."

Mae glared murder at Red John.

"For several years she didn't know who your father was. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer, I had to know if you were mine or not. Remember the day when you got woken up from your nap, you went to a strange place where a mean lady took you away from Mommy and took that pathetic white rag away from you, and you got introduced to one of these?" Red John pulled out a needle.

Mae tensed at the sight of the needle, shed hated needles.

"Do you remember that day?" Red John questioned.

"I try not to," Mae replied.

"But you do remember it?" Red John inquired.

"Yes," Mae growled.

"Well, I had the results of the DNA test sent straight to me and they said that you are my daughter," Red John responded.

"You're lying," she said.

"Fine, don't believe me, but test results don't lie. I would show you the old results, but I lost them a long time ago, so I think it's time for you to finally realize that you are not who you think you are. Funny isn't it? The man who is supposed to be your father is your uncle, and the man who is supposed to be your uncle is your father. You know, I almost made your mother get an abortion, and now I regret it, you're more trouble than you're worth, I really should have dragged her down to the abortion clinic that day," Red John replied.

Mae let out a snarl.

"What?" Red John asked.

"I have a strong hate for abortion, and a woman who gets an abortion is as much as a murderer as you are," she answered.

"I'll remember that," Red John responded

"If you really are my father, then why did you pretend to be my uncle?" she questioned.

"I had to lure you in somehow, if I came out and directly said I was your father I knew that we would have never met," Red John said as he tied Mae's wrist back to the chair.

Red John lifted the sleeve on Mae's shirt. She tensed. When Red John inserted the needle into her arm, he wasn't very gentle about it, he quickly drew the blood and pulled out the needle, and he wasn't very gentle about that either.

"I should get the results in about a week and a half."

Red John then forced Mae's mouth open and shoved some of the food in, and forced her to drink some of the water. She could barely swallow it, but she did, even though she didn't know how she did it.

"Why does it taste like garbage?" Mae inquired.

"Maybe because it is," Red John replied.

Mae spit out what she could, but a few minutes later she started feeling dizzy, and drowsy, her eyes felt heavy, and finally everything became black and dark, and then she knew he had drugged either the food or water, or even both.

Mae didn't know when it was but eventually she started coming to. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that her hands were tied back, and then she noticed that she was lying down on a bed, and not a very comfortable one at that, the last thing she noticed was that she wasn't wearing her shirt. At first Mae thought that he had raped her, but then she noticed that she was still wearing her jeans. She sighed in relief.

"Good, you're awake," said Red John as he stepped out of the shadows.

Red John still had his jacket on with the hood up so Mae couldn't see his face, but his jacket was open and he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"You monster," Mae replied.

"What, you actually think I did it? No, you just looked hot, so I removed your shirt. You better hope no man, epically your boyfriend, sees you in that position, or they'll see it as an open invitation, and one that they'll be glad to take I might add," Red John responded.

"I hate you," Mae said.

"If that happens, then you will be walking down the aisle with four or five brats of your own, no that probably wouldn't happen, because you would probably get rid of them before they had the chance to grow inside you," Red John replied.

Mae let out a growl. "I told you where I stand on abortion."

"Right, but I'm sure your mind will change," Red John responded.

"I hate you," Mae said.

"I'm getting tired of hearing that," Red John replied.

"I only speak the truth," she responded.

Red John came and sat down on the bed next to her. "Don't make me do this," said Red John as he opened his jacket even more.

Mae let out another growl.

"But since we're blood related, I do have friends who would be more than willing to teach you a lesson." Red John took out a knife and cut the ropes off one of her wrists. "I don't trust you to roam free, you have to earn my trust and you can do that by behaving."

Mae refrained from saying anything.

"There, it's not so hard, is it?"

About a week and a half later, the results of the blood test arrived, and sure enough, Red John was right, he was Mae's biological father. Later that day, Red John was out, and she couldn't take it anymore. Red John finally trusted Mae enough to let her roam around the building, but he locked her in. Mae walked around looking for something she could use to pick the lock, it took her awhile, but eventually she found a random paperclip lying on the floor. Mae knew how to pick a lock because she made Rigsby teach her. She was surprised how far "I'm going to tell Lisbon," got her, and it got me pretty far. It took me awhile, but eventually she picked the lock, and she was free; she ran out of the alley as fast as she could. Mae franticly ran into the nearest shop.

"May I help you?" asked the person working.

"Do you have a phone?" Mae questioned.

For the longest time Mae debated with herself about who she was going to call. She finally decided to call the police department. Not long after the police arrived, two all too familiar cars pulled up. Lisbon, Jane, Cho, Rigsby and Grace got out of the two cars.

Mae tried to hide from them, especially Grace, but to no avail; the store keeper ratted her out.

"You all looking for a red-headed girl?" he asked.

"Yes," Grace answered.

The store keeper pointed to where Mae was hiding. Grace went over and attempted to give Mae a hug, but she backed up.

"Mae, what's wrong?" Grace questioned.

She didn't answer.

"Mae, it's okay, you're not in trouble."

The rest of the team came over, and Mae became extremely uneasy.

"She's hiding something, it's in her front left pocket, and she keeps pulling at her sleeve, like there is something on her arm," said Jane.

Mae hadn't noticed that she was pulling at her sleeve until Jane mentioned it

"Mae, what's going on? Show us what's in your pocket," Aunt Grace replied.

She shook her head.

"Come on, you're not in trouble, just show us."

Again, she shook her head. "No."

"Mae, please, don't make this difficult, just show us," Aunt Grace responded.

Mae took a step back. "No, it's nothing, really."

"You're nervous," said Jane.

"No I'm not," she replied.

"Yes you are, you're shifting from foot to foot and you're playing with your hair, both which are signs of nervousness," Jane responded.

"Mae, I'm going to give you one more chance to show us what is in your pocket, and if you don't, I'm going to have to take some action," said Grace.

"Fine, you all want to see what's in my pocket, I'll show you," Mae replied. She slowly pulled the DNA results and held them up in the air so everyone could see them. "Okay, you've seen it," she added before running off.

* * *

"Whatever it is that she has, she really doesn't want us to see it, split up and let's try to get her to talk to us," said Lisbon to the team.

The team ran off, and Jane was about to join them when Lisbon stopped him.

"You're staying here."

"Why?" Jane asked.

"If this somehow involves Red John, which I have a feeling it does, I don't want you anywhere near Mae," Lisbon answered.

"Fine," Jane replied in defeat.

* * *

Adrenaline pumped through Mae's veins, she ran as hard and as fast as she could; she couldn't let them know. She heard someone running behind her, but she didn't risk a glance over her shoulder. Soon she came to a four way "intersection". She hesitated just long enough for three of the four ways to be blocked. Behind her was Lisbon, to her right was Rigsby, and to her left was Cho. Mae took off running straight, but then Grace appeared; Mae just kept on running, Grace's hand brushed her arm, but she didn't get a hold of Mae. Adrenaline was what kept Mae going, but she could it slowly draining from her body.

_No, no, no, this can't be happening, I have to keep going. I can't let them know. They're going to kill me if they find out._

Suddenly, Mae fell to the ground, but it wasn't a result of her tripping over something, someone must have tackled her. She looked around and saw Rigsby.

"Hi Rigsby, get off me please," she said.

"Hello, and I'm not even really on you," Rigsby replied. "Give it to me."

The hand with the results in it was under her, so Rigsby would have to pry her arm out if he wanted them.

"No," Mae responded. She wrestled with Rigsby for a few minutes. "No, stop, it's none of your business." Mae managed to hold on to the papers for a little while, but she could feel the adrenaline wearing off. Finally, Rigsby managed to get her arm behind my back and he slapped a pair of cuffs on, but she still tried to fight with him for the papers.

"Just give them up, I know the adrenaline is wearing off, so just let me have them," said Rigsby.

"No," Mae replied.

After about another minute Rigsby finally pried the papers out of her hands and Grace, Lisbon, and Cho arrived.

"NO!" Mae exclaimed feebly.

Rigsby got off her and opened the papers.

"Oh, my gosh, Grace you might want to read this," said Rigsby.

Grade knew it was serious since he used her first name while they were working. Grace walked over to where Rigsby was standing and Rigsby handed her the papers.

"No," Mae replied weakly.

"Oh my word, boss," Grace responded when she was done.

Lisbon walked over a read the papers.

"Wow, this changes everything," said Lisbon.

Rigsby hauled Mae to her feet since she was still face first on the ground because she was still in handcuffs. Her legs felt like jelly. All of a sudden she started to feel dizzy, her vision became extremely blurry, and the conversation around her was becoming harder and harder to hear, and then everything around her turned black.

* * *

Rigsby had a hold of Mae's arm when she passed out, since there was no way she could run off, he removed the handcuffs.

"No wonder she ran, she thinks we're going to hurt her," said Rigsby as he picked Mae up.

"No, she thinks we're going to kill her," Cho replied.

"Let's just get her back to Van Pelt's," Lisbon responded.

* * *

Sometime later Mae started coming to, the first thing she saw a blurry outline of Cho standing at the foot of her bed, and then she saw blurry outlines of Grace and Rigsby to her right, and Lisbon and Jane to her left, and then she noticed that her legs were extremely sore.

"Mae, come on, wake up," said Grace, her voice sounded distant.

Mae's eyes closed, but she was still aware of what was going on around her. For the next several minutes she slipped in and out of consciousness until finally she woke up.

"Wha...What hap...happened?" Mae asked.

"You gave us a run for our money, because you didn't want us to see these," Grace answered as she held up some papers.

After a minute Mae realized that the papers were the test results. She tried to sit up and take them, but Rigsby pushed her back into a lying down position.

"Don't hurt me," Mae said quietly.

"No, we're not going to hurt you," Grace replied.

"But..." Mae started.

"Am I surprised? Yes, but that doesn't change that you are still my niece and that I don't want anything to happen to you. Do you want to even know how worried I was?" Grace responded.

Mae turned to Jane. "You don't want to kill me? Don't you want revenge on Red John because he killed your wife and daughter, a life for a life?"

"No, I don't want to kill you. Do I want to get revenge on Red John? Of course I do, but I'm not going to do it by killing you," said Jane.

Mae gave Jane a small smile. All of a sudden, she felt extremely hungry. "Can I have something to eat? I don't care what it is, as long as it's not fast food, I will _**NEVER**_ eat fast food again."

"How about I heat up some left-over chicken noodle soup from about two nights ago?" Grace questioned.

"That sounds perfect," Mae replied.

Grace shooed everyone out, but Rigsby lingered for a moment. "You know you would make a great CBI agent one day, except for the fact that you break to easily. I didn't know you could run that fast," said Rigsby.

"'Thanks, neither did I, I was just so afraid of what you all were going to do to me when you found out that it got my adrenaline pumping," Mae replied.

After Mae was done eating, she called Steven.

"Mae!" said Steven.

"Hi Steven," she replied.

"Where were you, are you okay, what happened?" Steven asked.

"I'm fine, and it's kind of a long story," Mae answered.

"The police set up a perimeter around my house that left about two hours ago, by the way, it's great to hear your voice again, and I missed you," Steven responded.

"I missed you too, and I'm glad to hear your voice as well. Steven, do you know of the murderer Red John?" Mae said.

"Yes, I hate his guts, he should die," Steven replied.

"Well, my father has a twin brother, and it's Red John," Mae responded.

"So, Red John is your uncle?" Steven questioned.

"Yes and no," Mae said.

"What do you mean?" Steven inquired.

Mae told Steven everything from the moment she left my house that day to when Red John told her he was her biological father. "At first I didn't believe him, and then he had me take a DNA test, and the results came back, and sure enough, Red John is my biological father," Mae replied.

For a moment all Mae heard was the hum of the phone line. "Steven?"

Then the line went dead.

Mae sighed and then she hopped on Facebook. She saw that Steven was on.

_Steven?_

Steven suddenly logged off.

Mae was about to get off as well when a message from Amanda appeared.

_Where were you! _said Amanda.

_Hi, I missed you too. _Mae replied.

_What happened? The police set up a perimeter around my house that left only about two hours ago. _Amanda responded.

_Yeah, I know, they di__d the same thing at Steven's house._ Mae said.

_Are you okay? You weren't kidnapped were you? _Amanda asked.

_Yes, I'm fine, but yes, I was kidnapped. _Mae answered.

_You weren't raped or mugged were you? _Amanda questioned

_No. _Mae replied.

_Tell me what happened. _Amanda responded.

_Okay, but first, my father has a twin brother. _Mae said.

_Really? I didn't know that. _Amanda replied.

_Yeah, me neither until recently, and you can tell. _Mae responded.

_Fine, I won't. _Amanda said.

_My father's twin brother is Red John. _Mae replied.

_Red__ John is your uncle? _Amanda inquired.

_Yes and no. _Mae responded.

_What do you mean? _Amanda pressed.

_You can't tell anyone. _Mae said.

_Have I ever told anyone anything before? _Amanda pried

_Amanda, I'm serious, this will probably be one of the most serious things __I will ever tell you. _Mae replied.

_All right, I won't tell. _Amanda responded.

_Red John is my biological father._


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Mae was sitting on her bed rubbing her legs, which were still sore from the night before. "Ah, that feels good."

"Yeah, I'm sure it does, but it doesn't look good," came Rigsby's voice from the doorway.

Mae looked up. "Morning."

"Morning. Now, you have two choices, you can either tell me everything that happened so I can relay it to Lisbon, or you can come down to the office, sit in an interrogation room and tell Cho what happened," Rigsby replied.

"Can I take a shower first?" Mae asked.

"Yes, the skies above know you need one," Rigsby answered.

"It's not my fault, he would only let me shower twice," Mae responded.

Rigsby left without saying anything. Mae gathered an outfit to wear and took a long deserved, and needed, shower. Mae let the hot water run all over her body and through her hair; the water felt good on her sore legs. After her shower Mae came out to eat breakfast before going and sitting all day in an interrogation room.

"Does it normally take you thirty minutes to take a shower?" Rigsby asked as he set a plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon, and a glass of milk in front of her.

"No, but considering the facts that I haven't showered in about a week and a half, I needed to shave, I had to wash my hair, like twice, and my muscles are sore, can you blame me for taking that long?" Mae replied.

"No, I guess not, now eat up," Rigsby responded.

Mae grabbed a fork-full of pancakes and shoved them into her mouth.

"You're braver than you aunt."

"Why?" Mae asked with her mouth half full.

"I cooked breakfast," Rigsby answered.

Mae grabbed the napkin and spit the half chewed food into it, and then she gulped down half the glass of milk, but she had to admit, the pancakes were pretty good.

"Oh, don't worry; I didn't poison it or anything."

"I'm not taking my chances, every time I ate, Red John drugged the food so I fell asleep shortly after eating," Mae said.

"Sorry, I didn't know," Rigsby replied.

"By the way, where is Aunt Grace?" Mae questioned.

"She left right before I went into your room," Rigsby responded.

"So for about the past half hour it's been just you and me here?" Mae inquired.

"Yes, is that a problem?" said Rigsby.

Mae didn't say anything and just continued to eat. After Mae was done eating she went back to her room to style her hair and put on makeup. When they arrived at the CBI Cho met them.

"All right, let's get this over with," said Cho.

Mae followed Cho into an interrogation room. Cho sat down, and she sat across from him.

"Let's not waste each other's time." Cho place a cup of coffee next to the case file. "Here." Cho passed her a bottle of Arizona Green Tea, Mae's favorite, Grace must have given it to Cho to give to her.

"Thanks," Mae replied.

"Now, tell me everything that happened," Cho responded.

"Well, it all started about a week and a half ago..."

After several hours of relying everything that happened to Cho, Mae was finally allowed to go home. As soon as she got home, she went into her room and hopped on Facebook. She changed her status to: "Now I know how a criminal feels, I spent half the day in an interrogation room, I'm wiped."

Several seconds later, an IM popped up from Amanda

_We still on for our GNO? _Amanda asked.

_No, I'm bushed, besides I need to__ go talk to Steven, I need to know where we stand. _Mae answered.

_Oh, okay, maybe tomorrow night._ Amanda said.

_Yeah sure. _Mae replied.

_Well, good luck with Steven; let me know how it goes._ Amanda responded

_I will. _Mae said.

_Bye. _Amanda replied.

_TTYL. _Mae responded.

Before leaving to go over to Steven's Mae attempted to call him, but he didn't answer. Since Grace left after she dropped Mae off, Mae left her a note on the kitchen table, letting her know that Mae was going over to Steven's. When she arrived at Steven's house she took in a deep breath, let it out, and then rang the doorbell, moments later Steven's mom answered the door.

"Oh, hello, may I help you?" said Mrs. Walker.

"Hi Mrs. Walker, I'm Mae, is Steven in?" Mae replied.

"Yes, he is, come in," Mrs. Walker responded. "Steven, Mae is here to see you!" she called as she closed the front door.

"I'm busy right now Mom!" Steven called back.

About that time Mr. Walker came out of the living room. "Who was at the door?"

"Honey, this is Mae," said Mrs. Walker

"Hello," Mae responded.

"You and Steven going somewhere?" Mr. Walker asked.

"No, I need to talk to him," Mae answered.

"Steven, get your butt down here now!" Mr. Walker exclaimed.

"I'm busy!" Steven yelled from upstairs.

"Steven, if you don't get down here right now, so help me!" Mr. Walker screamed.

In some ways Mr. Walker reminded Mae of Rigsby, both of them were strong, muscular, intimidating, but they both had a soft side.

"I'm busy!" Steven repeated.

Mae knew the real reason why Steven wasn't coming downstairs; it was because he hated her for who her biological father was.

"Excuse me," said Mr. Walker before going upstairs.

Mae could only wonder what Mr. Walker was going to do to get Steven to come downstairs. About five minutes later Steven came downstairs with Mr. Walker right behind him. Mr. Walker motioned for them to go into the living room. Steven sat at one end of the couch and Mae sat on the other.

"Steven," Mae said.

He wouldn't even look at her.

"Steven, I know you're not thrilled about knowing that Red John is my biological father, neither am I, but that doesn't change who I am as a person."

He didn't say anything, much less look at her.

"Steven, please, look at me."

Once again, Steven didn't look at her.

"I need to know where we stand."

Steven didn't say anything.

"If you tell me to leave right now, I will walk out of that door and you will never have to see my face ever again."

Again, Steven didn't say anything.

"Steven, please, look at me, say something, anything, I'm begging you."

Steven just sat there.

"Fine, when you're ready to talk, I'll listen." Mae got up off the couch and started to leave.

"Mae, wait," said Steven.

She turned back to face Steven.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, it's just that when you told me that Red John is your biological father it didn't sit well with me because I hate him so much, but I don't hate you. I still want us to be together."

Mae returned to the couch and sat next to Steven. "Me too."

Steven grabbed her chin, leaned in, and they shared a kiss. After a moment he pulled back and looked down at her wrist.

"Where is the bracelet I gave you?" Steven asked.

Mae pulled the bracelet out of her purse. "I brought it, just in case things didn't work out between us."

Steven took the bracelet and placed it on her wrist.

All of a sudden, Mrs. Walker entered the living room.

"Mae, would you like to stay for dinner?" she questioned.

"Yes I would, let me call my aunt and let her know," Mae answered.

Mrs. Walker nodded and then went into the kitchen.

Mae pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called Grace.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hey, Steven's mom invited me to stay for dinner, is that all right?" Mae said.

"Yeah, that's fine, just be home before your curfew," Aunt Grace replied.

"I will," Mae responded.

Mae closed her phone and placed it back in her purse. Steven wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Want to watch T.V.?" Steven inquired.

"Sure," Mae said.

Mrs. Walker cooked a wonderful and delicious dinner of black beans and yellow rice, one of Mae's favorites. After dinner Mae hung out at Steven's for about another hour before going home. When she pulled into the driveway she saw Rigsby's car parked in the driveway, why should she have expected anything else? When she walked inside she found Grace in the kitchen.

_Probably cleaning up from dinner. _Mae thought.

But she didn't see Rigsby. "Where's Rigsby?"

"Right here," he answered from behind her.

Mae turned around and instantly regretted it, she saw Rigsby standing there in nothing but his boxers, holding a video camera.

"_**NO! MY EYES!**_" Mae exclaimed as she ran into her room as she could despite the fact that her legs were sore. She flew into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, and began to rinse her eyes out. About five minutes later she came out of the bathroom, she wasn't going to risk going out of her room, just in case Grace and Rigsby were "having some fun." She hopped on Facebook and seconds later a message from Amanda popped up.

_So, how did it go? _Amanda asked.

_Go__od, we're cool. _Mae answered.

_That's great. _Amanda said.

_I'm totally scarred for life. _Mae replied.

_Why? _Amanda questioned.

_When I walked into the house, I saw Aunt Grace in the kitchen, but I didn't see Rigsby, I knew he was here because his car is sittin__g in the driveway, and I was greeted by the sight of him in nothing but his boxers. _Mae responded.

_I pity you. _Amanda said.

_Thanks. _Mae replied.

_GNO tomorrow night? _Amanda inquired.

_Yeah, I'm game. _Mae responded.

_What do you want to do? _Amanda asked.

_Shopping, movie, dinner, I don't care, if we do go out to eat, we are __**NOT**_ _going to a fast food place. _Mae answered.

_Why? _Amanda questioned.

_All I ate for a week and a half was fast food, or worse, I'm __**NEVER **__eating fast food ever again. _Mae said.

_That sucks__, but I understand. _Amanda replied.

_Thanks. _Mae responded.

The next night Amanda and Mae had their girl's nigh out, they went to dinner at Olive Garden and a movie, and they also did a bit of window shopping. When Mae went home that night, she wasn't surprised to see Rigsby was there, but thankfully he was fully clothed.

"Hey, how was your girl's night?" Grace asked.

"Good, we went to dinner Olive Garden and a movie, we also did some window shopping," Mae answered.

"Sounds like you had a good time," said Rigsby.

"Yes, we did," Mae replied before going into her room.

About a week later Mae came home one evening from hanging out with Steven, when she pulled into the driveway Rigsby's car was sitting there, no surprise. The moment she closed the front door behind her, Grace and Rigsby glared murder at her. Rigsby thankfully was wearing at least a wife-beater. The whole house reeked of beer, and Mae saw about twelve beer cans scattered around the living room. She stood there in shock. _What happened?_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who had read this story, and I hope you like it so far.**

**DebbieOz: Thanks for giving me my first review. I hope you will continue reading.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princes**


	5. Chapter 5

Mae stood by the door in shock. _What had happened at work?_ After a moment Mae went to her room quietly and packed an overnight bag, she wasn't going to stay here for the night, not with both Rigsby _**and**_ Grace drunk. When she was done packing she went back downstairs, set her stuff by the door and went into the kitchen, on her way she picked up Rigsby and Grace's keys. Mae opened the refrigerator and found another case of beer sitting there; she took the beer out of the fridge and poured it down the sink. She was about finished with the last beer when Rigsby came into the kitchen.

"Hey, that's our beer," said Rigsby, his speech was extremely slurred.

"Not anymore," Mae replied quietly, though to him it probably sounded like she yelled.

"Be quiet," Rigsby responded, and then he spotted his and Grace's keys on the counter. "Our keys."

Mae quickly grabbed the keys, ran to the door, grabbed her stuff, and rushed to her car. She drove off quickly, but without going over the speed limit. Mae called Amanda.

"Hello," said Amanda.

"Hey, can I come over?" Mae replied.

"Sure, but why?" Amanda responded.

"I walked into the house about fifteen minutes ago, and when I closed front door behind me Rigsby and my aunt glared murder at me, and the house reeked of beer, sure enough, there are about a dozen beer cans scattered around the living room. I went into the kitchen and in the fridge was another case of beer, I poured it down the sink, and I when I was nearly done with the last can Rigsby walked into the kitchen, saw that I had his and my aunt's keys, and nearly chased me out of the house," Mae said.

"I don't blame you for wanting to come over, and you're more than welcome to spend the night, I'll get the guest bedroom ready, and guess what?" Amanda replied.

"What?" Mae asked.

"My parents are out for the weekend, so we will have the house to ourselves, and we can stay up as late as we want," Amanda answered.

"Awesome," Mae responded.

"All right see you in a few," said Amanda.

"Okay," Mae replied before hanging up.

Mae really wanted to know what happened to cause Grace and Rigsby to be wasted. She wasn't going to call Lisbon, because knowing her, she was going to be as wasted as Grace and Rigsby. She wasn't going to call Jane because she hated his guts. She ended up calling Cho.

"Cho." His voice was in the normal deadpan, monotone style.

"Hi," Mae said.

"Mae?" Cho asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"Is something wrong?" Cho questioned.

"Actually, there is, when I walked into my house about twenty minutes ago, I found my aunt..."

"And Rigsby?" Cho inquired

"Yes, how did you..."

"Everyone knows, except Lisbon," Cho replied.

"Well, I found them drunk. No, wasted. What happened?" Mae responded.

"Nothing you need to worry about," said Cho.

"I think I do because my aunts, and Rigsby, who is over half the time, are sitting in the living room wasted," Mae replied.

"All right, I'll tell you, we had another Red John murder today," Cho responded.

"Something tells me that this one is different," Mae said.

"It is, the woman was in her mid-twenties, and she was seven months pregnant, and Red John left a note, which is not like him," Cho replied.

"I hate him. What did the note say?" Mae responded.

"Basically it said that this murder was for you since you don't like abortions and he doesn't like people sneaking out under his nose, and that you can't run from him forever, and he'll get you," said Cho.

For a moment Mae didn't say anything, but it sounded like Cho was taking a drink of something. "Are you drinking?" Mae asked.

"Yes," Cho answered.

"I didn't know you drank," Mae said.

"Not often, but I keep a few beers in the fridge," Cho replied.

"How drunk are you?" Mae questioned.

"I'm only on my first bottle. Why did you call me instead of Lisbon or Jane?" Cho responded.

"Well, knowing Lisbon, she's probably as wasted as my aunt and Rigsby, I hate Jane's guts, and I knew you were the only who was going to give me a straight answer," I said.

"Okay, if you don't mind, I'm going to go," Cho replied.

"All right, thanks for the info," Mae responded.

"Sure," said Cho.

Mae then shut off my phone and soon she arrived at Amanda's. Amanda met her at the door.

"Hey," Mae said.

"Hi, did you know your aunt's boyfriend has a potty mouth?" Amanda replied.

"Yes, and how did you know?" Mae responded.

"He called me a few minutes ago," said Amanda.

"Of course he did. What did he say?" Mae asked.

"He said that you need to get your butt back to the house and give him his keys back," Amanda answered.

"He didn't say butt did he?" Mae questioned.

"No, he also threw in the 'f' word, h-e-double hockey sticks, the 'b' word, and the 'd' word," Amanda replied.

"I'm sorry, he's not normally like that, it's just that he's wasted," Mae responded.

"Yeah, I know, I have family members like that, I'll make popcorn and you know where the movies are, so you can pick one out after you put your stuff upstairs," said Amanda.

"All right," Mae replied as she went upstairs and Amanda went into the kitchen.

"You want to know if Steven can come over," Amanda responded when Mae was about halfway up the stairs.

"How did you..." Mae started.

"I have my ways, and sure, the more the merrier. He can stay as long as you two behave," said Amanda.

"Thanks, and we will, I promise," Mae replied. Once Mae had put my stuff in the guest room she called Steven.

"Hey, what's up?" said Steven.

"Nothing much, I'm over at Amanda's," Mae replied.

"Why?" Steven asked.

"When I walked into my house, I found my aunt and her boyfriend wasted," Mae answered.

"Oh, you're not going home are you?" Steven questioned.

"No, I'm spending the night at Amanda's," Mae responded.

"Good, you don't need to be there when they are drunk," said Steven.

"Well, I was wondering, do you want to come over?" Mae inquired.

"I don't think that is the best idea," Steven replied.

"No, it's all right with Amanda, besides she said: 'the more, the merrier', and her parents aren't home," I responded.

"Well, in that case, I suppose I'll come over," said Steven.

"Okay, but there is one condition," Mae replied.

"What?" Steven asked.

"We have to behave or else you have to leave," Mae answered.

"I don't think we'll have a problem," Steven responded.

"All right, see you in ten minutes?" Mae questioned.

"I can't come over, if I don't know her address," said Steven.

Mae gave Steven Amanda's address and then went downstairs.

"All right, Steven is on his way," Mae said.

"Cool, now go pick out a movie," Amanda replied.

Mae went into the den and scanned through Amanda's DVDs, and chose _Red Riding Hood_. About ten minutes later the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Amanda exclaimed.

Mae soon joined Amanda at the door, standing there was Steven and one of his friends.

"Hey Steven," Mae said as she went up and gave him a hug.

"Hey, this is my friend Logan," Steven replied. "Logan, this is my girlfriend Mae, and her best friend Amanda."

"Hi," Logan responded.

"Logan, why don't you help Amanda get the popcorn and drinks, while Steven and I set up things in the den?" Mae asked.

"Sure," said Logan.

"What does everyone want? Let me list off what I have: Dr. Pepper, Coke, water, and Sprite," Amanda replied.

"D.P.," Mae responded.

"Same," said Steven.

"Coke," Logan replied.

"All right, two Dr. Peppers and two Cokes," Amanda responded.

Steven and Mae went into the den, while Amanda and Logan went into the kitchen.

"Are you trying to play match maker?" Mae asked when she and Steven were in the den.

"No, it's just that Logan has liked Amanda since Sophomore year, and I thought this would be a good way for them to meet," Steven answered.

"Oh, well I bet Amanda thinks that we're playing match maker," Mae said.

"I'm sorry," Steven replied.

"It's all right, I forgive you," I responded as I stretched up and gave Steven a kiss.

* * *

Logan followed Amanda into the kitchen and helped her get the drinks.

"It's not that I'm against you being here, but I wasn't expecting it," said Amanda.

"Yeah, I know, but Steven invited me, and I couldn't refuse, we're like brothers," Logan replied.

"That's funny, because Mae and I are like sisters," Amanda responded.

"You need help with anything?" Logan asked.

"Could you carry two of the drinks?" Amanda questioned.

"Of course," Logan answered as I grabbed a Coke and Dr. Pepper.

Amanda grabbed the other two drinks and the popcorn.

* * *

A few minutes later Logan and Amanda entered the den. Steven and Mae were on the loveseat lying sideways, Steven was lying behind Mae, and she had her head rested on his chest, and he had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I thought I told you two to behave," said Amanda.

"We are behaving, we haven't done anything," Mae replied.

Amanda handed me my Dr. Pepper and Logan handed Steven his.

"Now, we have to warn you."

"Why?" Steven asked. He stopped with his hand halfway to the popcorn bowl.

"We do something a bit...different with our popcorn," Amanda responded.

"What do you do?" Logan questioned.

"We put salt _**and**_ sugar on our popcorn," Mae said.

"Really?" Steven inquired.

"Yes," Mae replied.

Steven grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth. Steven was such a guy.

"Hmm, that's some of the best popcorn I have ever had," Steven responded.

"Glad you like it," Mae said.

"All right Logan, your turn," Steven replied.

Logan grabbed a small handful of popcorn and placed it in his mouth.

"That's pretty good," Logan responded.

"Translation: he loves it," said Steven.

"Well, with that taken care, let's start the movie," Amanda replied.

About ten minutes into the movie, Mae's cell phone began to vibrate. She got up and walked into the living room, it was Rigsby.

"Hello," Mae said.

"You better get your as..."

Mae quickly closed her phone, shut it off completely, and then went back into the den.

"Who was that?" Steven whispered.

"My aunt's boyfriend," Mae whispered back.

When the movie was over Steven and Logan left; Mae walked out with Steven while Logan

* * *

"I had a nice time," said Logan.

"Me too, but what was the real reason Steven brought you with him?" Amanda replied.

"I have a confession to make," Logan responded.

"What?" Amanda asked.

Logan took in a deep breath and let it out. "I've liked you since Sophomore year."

Amanda stood there stunned. "Oh, well, I don't think I'm ready for a relationship. I haven't had a good experience with boys, especially in high school."

"I understand, I just had to get that off my chest," said Logan.

"But I'm willing to give it a try, just no funny business," Amanda replied.

"No problem, now I have one question," Logan responded.

"What?" Amanda questioned.

"Amanda, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" Logan inquired.

"Yes, I will," said Amanda.

* * *

A few minutes after Steven and Mae walked outside Logan and Amanda come outside and found Steven and Mae kissing. Amanda cleared her throat; Steven and Mae pulled back.

"Talk to you tomorrow," Mae said.

"All right, good night, I love you," Steven replied.

"I love you too," Mae responded.

Steven and Logan got into Steven's car; Amanda and Mae watched them drive off.

"So, what did Logan want?" Mae asked.

"I didn't know he's liked me since Sophomore year," Amanda answered.

"Yeah, Steven told me," Mae said.

"Anyway, Logan asked me out," Amanda replied.

"No way!" Mae exclaimed.

"Yeah," Amanda responded.

"Well, I guess that means the four of us can double-date," Mae said.

"I suppose it does," Amanda replied.

The next morning when Mae went home she found Rigsby in the kitchen. He was having an extremely bad hangover.

"Where's the Tylenol?" he asked.

Mae grabbed the Tylenol out of the medicine cabinet, filled a glass with water and handed them to Rigsby.

"Thanks."

"You were so wasted last night," Mae said.

"I was? I don't remember," Rigsby replied.

"Yes, you were, and so was Aunt Grace," Mae responded.

"Oh, did I do anything stupid?" said Rigsby.

"Well, if you don't count chasing me out of the house, and calling Amanda and pretty much cussing her out, I don't think so," Mae replied.

"Oh, I didn't realize. Why did I chase you out of the house?" Rigsby responded.

"Because I took your keys," Mae said.

"Why did you take my keys?" Rigsby questioned.

"Because you were, and you're still, not in any condition to drive, which means I'm going to drive you back to your apartment," Mae replied.

"That's really not necessary," Rigsby responded.

"I think it is, now let's go, by the way, where's Aunt Grace?" Mae said.

"On the couch," Rigsby replied.

When Rigsby and Mae walked outside we saw Amanda standing in the driveway.

"What are you doing here?" Mae inquired.

"I thought I might be needed," Amanda responded.

"Actually, could you follow me to Rigsby's apartment and then drive me back here?" Mae said.

"Sure," replied Amanda.

"Rigsby, this is my best friend, Amanda," Mae responded. "Amanda, this is my aunt's boyfriend."

"I'm sorry about last night, I didn't know what I was doing," Rigsby said.

"It's all right, I have family members that do that sometimes," replied Amanda.

"Well, now that introductions are over, let's get going," Mae responded.

Rigsby and Mae got into his car, and Amanda got in her car. Mae made Rigsby sit in the back of his car. About twenty minutes later they arrived at Rigsby's apartment. Mae shut off the car, got out and handed Rigsby the keys.

"Now, promise me that you're not going to go anywhere," Mae said.

"I promise, I don't think I'll be going anywhere until I have to go to work on Monday," Rigsby replied.

"Good, you don't need to be going anywhere, and call me if you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call," Mae responded.

"All right," said Rigsby.

"I'll be calling you later to see how you're doing," Mae replied.

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going to bed," Rigsby responded.

"All right, talk to you later," Mae said before getting in Amanda's car.

When Mae got home she unloaded her things from her car, and then went to go check on Grace, but she wasn't on the couch, Mae went and checked her bedroom, and heard her in the bathroom. Mae quickly left because the smell wasn't very pleasant. Mae went into the living room and cleaned up the beers cans, shaking her head she as did. By the time Mae was done cleaning up the beer cans Grace came out of her bedroom.

"Where were you last night?" Grace asked.

"Amanda's," Mae answered.

"What happened, where's Wayne?" Grace questioned.

"Well, first of all, when I came in you and Rigsby glared murder at me, then I packed my stuff to go over to Amanda's. After packing I went into the kitchen and found another case of beer sitting in the fridge, so I poured it down the sink," Mae said.

"Why did you...no, thanks," Grace replied.

"Anyways, Rigsby came into the kitchen when I was almost done with the last can, and he chased me out of the house because he saw that I had both of you all's keys," Mae responded.

"Oh, again, thanks," said Grace.

"As for where Rigsby is, I drove him back to his apartment," Mae replied.

"How did you get back here?" Aunt Grace inquired.

"Amanda," Mae responded.

"Oh, well I'm going to bed," said Grace.

"All right, don't hesitate to ask me if you need something, I'm probably going out with Steven tonight," Mae replied.

"Fine," Grace responded before going back into her bedroom.

That night Steven and Mae went out on a date along with Amanda and Logan. The four of them went to dinner and a walk around the park. When Mae got home Grace was asleep. Before doing anything else Mae called Rigsby.

"Hello," said Rigsby, he sounded like he was half asleep.

"Hi, just checking up on you," Mae replied.

"Oh, I'm fine," Rigsby responded.

"Do you need anything?" Mae asked.

"No, just sleep," Rigsby answered.

"All right, I'll call you in the morning, and remember, don't hesitate to call me at any time if you need anything," Mae said.

"Okay," Rigsby replied.

After Mae got off the phone with Rigsby she went in and checked on Grace, she was fast asleep. Mae went into her room and hopped on Facebook.

The next morning when Mae got up Grace was still asleep, then again, she couldn't say that she blamed her, and if she was asleep, no doubt Rigsby was too, but Mae told him she was going to call him, and so she did. When Rigsby answered the phone he sounded like he was half asleep.

"Hello?"

"Hey, just checking up on you. Do you need anything?" Mae said.

"No, just sleep," Rigsby replied.

"Okay, I'll be calling you later, and again, don't hesitate to call me," Mae responded.

"Yeah, I know," said Rigsby.

The rest of Mae's weekend consisted of checking up on Rigsby and Grace every few hours, but what they really need, and wanted, was to sleep, and she couldn't say that she blamed them.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter and will continue reading.**

**DebbieOz: Well, now you know why they were upset, they were totally wasted. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	6. Chapter 6

About a week later Grace came in one morning to let Mae know she was going to work.

"Fine," Mae said still half asleep.

When she woke up a few hours later Mae got up and ate breakfast, but a little while later she started feeling sick to her stomach, she ran into the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach, when it was over she didn't have the energy to make it back to her bedroom, so she just curled up on the bathroom floor.

* * *

After work Van Pelt and Rigsby arrived at Van Pelt's house, and when they went inside all was quiet.

"Where's Mae, her car is here? Do you think Steven picked her up?" said Rigsby.

"No, she would have left a note if that was the case, she might be in her room," Van Pelt answered as she went into Mae's room with Rigsby at her heels.

Van Pelt knocked on Mae's door, but there was no answer. Van Pelt cracked the door open. "Mae?" She didn't see Mae anywhere.

"What?" Rigsby asked.

"She's not in here," Van Pelt replied.

Suddenly they heard moaning coming from the bathroom; Van Pelt cautiously went over to the bathroom door and poked her head inside; she saw Mae lying on the bathroom floor.

* * *

Sometime later Mae heard the bathroom door open.

"Mae," came a distant, familiar voice.

Mae moaned, she felt absolutely miserable.

"Mae, is something wrong?"

She looked up and saw Grace standing in the bathroom doorway, suddenly she felt sick again and she started to wretch. Grace went over and held Mae's hair back.

"Have you been in here all day?" Grace asked when Mae was done.

"I think so," Mae answered. Suddenly she felt her muscles cramp, and moaned in pain.

"What's wrong?" Grace questioned

"My muscles are cramping up again" Mae said.

"Have you been drinking water?" Grace inquired.

"A little, but I can't keep it down," Mae replied.

"You're dehydrated. What happened?" Grace responded.

"This morning when I got up, I ate breakfast and a little while later I started feeling sick so I came in here," Mae said.

"What did you have for breakfast?" Grace pried.

"Cereal and toast," Mae replied.

"The milk might be bad," Rigsby said.

"Maybe, I'll go check." Grace turned to Mae. "Do you think you could make it back to your bed?"

"I don't know," Mae responded. She managed to stand, but her legs felt like jelly.

Grace turned to Rigsby. "Help her back to bed." Then Grace left.

Rigsby helped Mae back to bed and she curled up on her side; she felt absolutely miserable. A few minutes later Grace came back.

"What's the verdict?" Rigsby asked.

"The milk went bad, I guess nobody realized it, you just have food poisoning, just rest and stay hydrated, and no going out for at least the rest of the week," Grace said.

"Can you two go now, I want to try and get some sleep," Mae replied.

"All right, just holler if you need anything," Grace responded.

Mae nodded. "Okay, now leave me alone, I'm tired."

"Now you know how I feel when you called me every few hours when I was having my hangover," Rigsby responded.

"I'm sorry," Mae said.

"Perhaps I should disturb your sleep every couple of hours," Rigsby replied.

"Please don't," Mae responded.

"I won't, I know you were just concerned about us," said Rigsby.

"Please leave," Mae replied.

"Ah, I think someone needs a friend," Rigsby responded.

"Go away," Mae said.

Rigsby went over to the shelves, picked up Snowy, Mae's stuffed white wolf from her childhood, and tossed it to her.

"Leave."

As Rigsby left he just laughed. Once he was gone Mae looked around her room to make sure no one was watching, even though she knew no one was, and then she picked Snowy up and clutched her to her chest. Soon Mae was fast asleep.

The next morning Grace woke Mae up before she left for work. "Mae, come on, wake up."

Eventually she woke up. "What?"

"I'm headed off to work, call me if you need anything," said Grace.

"Okay," Mae replied sleepily.

"Go on, get some rest, and make sure you stay hydrated," Grace responded.

Mae fell back asleep and a little while later she heard her cellphone ringing

"Hello," Mae said.

"Hey, want to hang out tonight?" Steven asked.

"Yes, but I can't," Mae answered.

"Why not?" Steven questioned.

"I'm sick," I replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want me to come over?" Steven responded.

"No, I'll be fine," I said.

"Are you sure? What are you sick with?" Steven inquired.

"Yes, I'll call you later, all right. Food poisoning," I replied.

"Food poisoning isn't fun, I hope you get better soon, I love you," Steven responded.

"I love you too," Mae said before hanging up.

About ten minutes after she got off the phone with Steven her phone rang again

"Hello," Mae said half asleep.

"I hear you're not feeling well," replied a familiar voice.

Mae was instantly awake. "Leave me alone."

"Did I wake you up?" Red John asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Red John responded in mock apology.

"What do you want?" Mae questioned.

"You'll find out in 5-4-3-2..."

There was a moment's pause and then she heard a window being broken. She quickly shut her phone, opened it again and called Grace. While she was waiting for Grace to pick up she heard another window being broken.

"Van Pelt."

"Aunt Grace," Mae said.

"Mae, what's going on?" Grace asked.

"Someone is breaking into the house," Mae answered.

"What?" Grace questioned.

"It's him," Mae replied.

"All right, lock your door and stay quiet, we'll be there as soon as possible," Grace responded before hanging up.

Mae got out of bed, locked her bedroom door, climbed back into bed, and pulled the covers over her head. She heard Red John run towards her bedroom, and she let out a whimper. Honestly, she wasn't ashamed of it; she was scared out of her mind. Red John jiggled the doorknob and found it locked, and then he kicked the door in.

"You can't fool me, I know you're in here," he said as he entered the room.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter, and oh my word, Sunday's episode! I loved it, but it was one of their darker non-Red John episodes. **

**DebbieOz: Yeah they would, I don't blame them for drinking away their problems, although I don't support drinking alcoholic beverages.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	7. Chapter 7

Before Mae could say anything, she heard him walking around the room, and only one thought was going through her head: _oh no._ Red John stopped at the shelves.

"What is this ugly white rag; is it supposed to be a cross between a dog and a bear?" Red John asked.

"No, it's a wolf," Mae answered, her voice was muffled since she was under the covers.

"It's ugly," said Red John.

"No it's not, it's just loved, unlike you, you've never been loved, and you're so ugly, I bet that's why you hide under your hood," Mae replied.

She heard Red John stop walking.

"What did you just say to me?" he questioned.

"You heard me," Mae responded.

"You did not just say that to me," Red John said.

"I think I just did," Mae replied.

She felt Red John sit down on the bed, and she let out a little whimper.

"Ah, are you scared?" he inquired.

Mae didn't say anything.

"But truly did you just say that?"

"Yes, yes I did," Mae responded.

Red John leaned in close. "Did you now? But I can punish you later since we have to leave, you're coming with me."

"No I'm not, I'm staying right here," Mae said.

"No you're not, give me one good reason why you should stay," Red John replied.

"Because I'm too sick to get out of bed," Mae responded.

Red John leaned in close again. "Daddy will carry his baby girl."

"That won't..." Mae was cut off by the sound of sirens.

Red John jumped up, threw back the covers and pulled out his gun. "You..."

"Don't do it," Mae said.

"Give me one good reason not to," Red John replied.

"If you kill me, you will make two very important people angry, and trust me, been there, done that, and I don't want to do it again," Mae responded.

"Oh, and who might these people be?" Red John asked.

"Two people quite close to a Mr. Patrick Jane," Mae answered.

"I'll deal with Mr. Jane later, but do you really think that your aunt and her boyfriend scare me?" Red John said.

"Fine, then consider this, the longer you stay, the chances of you being caught increases greatly," Mae replied.

"I'll be back, you haven't seen the last of me," Red John responded as he ran out of the room.

When Mae was sure he was gone she got up, walked over to her shelves, picked up Snowy, climbed back into bed, and clutched Snowy to her chest. A few moments later she heard several cars pull into the driveway, and soon thereafter, she heard people running through the house yelling: "clear." Mae recognized the voices, it was Grace's CBI team.

"Mae!" Grace exclaimed as she ran towards Mae's room

"In my room!" Mae hollered back.

"Mae," Grace said as she sat on the bed and pulled back the covers.

Mae sat up, flung her arms around Grace and started to cry into her shoulder.

"What happened?" Grace asked.

"It was horrible," Mae cried.

"Did he hurt you?" Grace questioned.

"No," Mae sobbed.

Mae suddenly felt Lisbon, Rigsby, Cho and Jane staring at her. It was kind of embarrassing since she was still holding Snowy.

"All of you leave," said Grace.

Mae heard the team shuffle out of the room.

"All right, they're gone. Now, what happened?"

"He came in here," Mae replied.

"Did he touch you, did he hurt you?" Grace inquired.

"No," Mae responded.

"Then what?" Grace pried.

"We got to talking and I was cut off by the sound of sirens, and then he pulled out his gun," Mae said.

"What?" Grace exclaimed.

"But I convinced him not to kill me, and as he was leaving he said: 'I'll be back, you haven't seen the last of me'," Mae replied.

"All right, do you want to go back to sleep?" Grace responded.

Mae nodded.

"Well, I don't know what we're going to do about your door, but I'll make sure no one comes in here and disturbs you."

_Good_, Mae thought, because all she wanted to do was sleep, she especially didn't want _**him**_ bothering her. Grace caught Mae's look.

"If Jane even thinks about taking one step near your room, I will hit him upside the head with a lamp."

Mae cracked a small smile, popped two Tylenol into her mouth, and then went to sleep. As she drifted off she wondered how soon would Red John's last words become his actions.

About a week later Mae felt much better. The first person she called after she was cleared was Steven.

"Hey," Steven said.

"Hi, guess what?" Mae replied.

"What?" Steven asked.

"I'm all better," Mae answered.

"That's great," Steven responded.

"I know, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired," Mae said.

"I bet, now, I have something I want to ask you," Steven replied.


	8. Chapter 8

"Aunt Grace, can I please go to the beach this weekend?" Mae begged.

"No," Grace answered.

"Why not?" Mae asked.

"Let's see, there will be four teenagers in one house, at the beach, for the weekend. I don't think so," Grace said.

"And let's not forget, she just got over being sick, and she shouldn't be kissing, and if we let her be alone with Steven, I bet they'll be kissing it up," Rigsby replied.

"No we won't, and besides, I've been cooped up in the house for the past week and food poisoning isn't contagious, I want out. Can please go?" Mae responded.

"No," Grace responded.

"It's not like we are going to be alone, Amanda and Logan are going to be there, if Amanda can get permission, please" Mae said.

"What's so special about Amanda being there? I really don't get it," Rigsby replied.

"She's really responsible, and she won't take crap from anybody," Mae responded.

"And Logan's going to be there, which is going to put temptation on her plate," Rigsby said.

"No it won't," Mae replied.

"Why not?" Rigsby inquired.

"Because other than the occasional hand-holding, he hasn't touched her," Mae responded.

"Who's keeping that in check, her or her parents?" Rigsby pried.

"Her, and besides he respects her and her father," Mae said.

"Is he intimidating?" Rigsby pressed.

"Kind-of, he reminds me of you," Mae replied.

"He works out doesn't he?" Rigsby asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"The answer is still no," Rigsby responded.

"Why?" Mae questioned.

"Because we said so," Grace said.

"Actually Grace come here," Rigsby replied.

Grace went over and Rigsby whispered something in her ear.

"All right you can go."

"Thank you," Mae responded.

"Under one condition," Grace said.

"What?" I inquired.

"We get to interrogate Steven and Logan, any way we see fit," Rigsby replied.

Mae sighed. "I guess that's fair." _Great, they're going to get interrogated, and then they are going to hate us. _

"The sooner you can get them over here, the sooner you can get your answer."

"And we also want to talk with Amanda and her parents," Grace responded.

Mae pulled out my cellphone and decided to call Amanda first.

"Hello."

"Hey," Mae said.

"Hi, I don't have a definite answer yet, I'm in Limbo," Amanda replied.

"Yeah, me too, but my aunt and her boyfriend want to interrogate the boys and talk with you and your parents," Mae responded.

"Oh, that kind-of weird, because my parents want to do the same thing," said Amanda.

"Well, then bring them over, I'm about to call Steven," Mae replied.

"All right, see you soon," Amanda responded.

After Mae got off the phone with Amanda she called Steven.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Mae replied.

"Do you have an answer?" Steven asked.

"No, Amanda and I are both in Limbo, but my aunt and her boyfriend want to interrogate you and Logan," Mae answered.

"Oh, um...okay, I'll call Logan and we'll be there soon," Steven responded.

"All right, love you," Mae said.

"Love you too," Steven replied.

About ten minutes later Amanda and her parents arrived, and about ten minutes after that Steven and Logan arrived. Everyone all talked for a while and then it was time to start with the interrogations.

"All right, girls, we are going into Mae's to talk, while the boys are staying in here to be interrogated," said Grace.

Grace, Mrs. Masters, Amanda and Mae all went upstairs.

"All right, to start off the conservation, I think you two are long overdue for something."

"What?" Mae asked.

"The talk," Mrs. Masters answered.

Amanda groaned. "We're eighteen; we don't need 'the talk'."

"Yes, you do," Grace replied.

By the time Grace and Mrs. Masters were done, Amanda and Mae were scarred for life. They fell back onto the bed, grabbed pillows and covered their faces.

"I never want to look at another boy again," said Amanda.

"Me neither," Mae replied.

"Well, in that case..." Grace started.

"On second thought," Mae responded.

"All right, now get into the living room," said Grace.

Amanda and Mae got off the bed and headed to the living room, Mrs. Masters and Grace right behind them. Amanda and Mae went into the living while Steven and Logan went out front with Grace and Mrs. Masters.

"All right girls, let lay down some ground rules," said Mr. Masters

"First of all, you two don't own bathing suits, do you? You own bikinis," Rigsby replied.

"Yes, yes we do. Besides, what's wrong with having a bikini? All teenage girls wear them," Mae responded.

"You're showing too much," said Rigsby.

"Now, let's set some ground rules: to and from the water you must be covered, now in the water, that's fine," Mr. Masters replied.

"Um, Mr. Masters, isn't that kind-of defeating the point?" I asked.

"We're just trying to protect you two," Mr. Masters answered.

"We're not eight, we're eighteen Dad," Amanda responded.

"Do you want us to pull the plug on this thing right now?" Rigsby questioned.

"No," Amanda and Mae said at the same time.

"If one of you has to go to the condo for something, the other must go as well, you're not allowed alone with the boys at any time," Mr. Masters replied.

"You all will be in one room and the boys will be in another right?" Rigsby inquired.

"Yes," Mae responded.

"You must have the door locked at night, and don't move around the house at night unless it is absolutely necessary," said Rigsby.

"All right," Amanda replied.

"No going into the boy's room under any circumstances, and no letting the boys into your room under any circumstances," Mr. Masters responded.

"And again, you're not allowed alone with the boys at any time," said Rigsby.

"Yes sir," Amanda and Mae replied in unison.

"You'll be calling your aunt five times a day, at scheduled times, and you'll also be calling me five times a day, separately," Rigsby responded.

"And you'll be calling your mom and I five times a day, each," said Mr. Masters.

"So, what are we supposed to do, sit around the house all day doing nothing?" Amanda asked.

"Yes," Rigsby answered.

"Can we go or not?" Mae questioned.

"We have to talk to your aunt and Mrs. Masters first," Rigsby replied.

At that time the front door opened and Grace, Mrs. Masters, Steven and Logan walked in. Rigsby and Mr. Masters walked outside with Mrs. Masters and Grace while they sat in the living room.

"So how did it go?" Mae asked.

Steven sighed. "That was torture."

"I'm sorry," Mae said.

"Logan?" Amanda questioned.

"I never want to go through that again," Logan replied.

There were a few silent moments and then Steven got up.

"Steven?" Mae inquired.

"Let's just forget about the whole thing," Steven responded.

_No, this can't be happening_, Mae thought. "Steven."

"I don't want to feel like I'm going to be arrested every time I come over, and I don't want to go through this every time we go out," Steven said.

"Steven, that won't happen," I replied.

Steven turned to Logan. "How about you?"

"Ditto," Logan responded as he stood.

"Logan," Amanda said.

"Sorry," Logan replied as he and Steven walked to the front door.

About that time the door opened and Aunt Grace, Rigsby, and Mr. and Mrs. Masters walked in.

"Where are you going?" Rigsby asked.

"We're pulling the plug on this thing, we're sorry we wasted your time, you won't have to worry about us anymore," Steven answered as he and Logan walked out.

Tears bit at Mae's eyes, and Amanda's eyes were glassy, both of them were trying not to cry. Mae heard Steven start up his car and drove off. When she was sure he was gone she got up, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.

"I hope you all are happy," Mae said trying to keep her composure in front of the adults.

Amanda was close at Mae's heels and they got into Mae's car. Mae started it up and went the opposite direction of the boys.

"I don't care what we do, dinner, movie, I really don't care, I just don't want to go home. I have my debit card, so I'm good to go," said Amanda.

"Ditto," Mae replied.

"How could they do this?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know. What did we ever see in them?" Mae answered.

"I don't know either, but who needs guys?" Amanda responded.

"Seriously," Mae said.

Amanda and Mae ended up going to dinner and a movie, and then Mae drove Amanda home. When Mae got home she slammed the front door behind her, stormed into her room, slammed her bed room door, and opened it again.

"**Just leave me alone and Rigsby, don't you even ****think** **about picking my lock!**" Mae yelled at the top of her lungs. Mae slammed her door, and deciding that the first slam wasn't good enough she opened the door and slammed it again.

* * *

"She's mad," said Van Pelt.

"Yeah, I can tell," Rigsby replied.

"Normally she's very calm and collected, but she even scares me when she's mad," Van Pelt responded.

"Reminds me of you," said Rigsby.

Van Pelt smacked Rigsby upside the head.

"What? Normally you're extremely calm and collected, but you scare me when you're mad."

"Good to know," Van Pelt replied.

* * *

The next day Amanda and Mae went to the mall, and they were sitting in the food court when two guys walked up.

"Where are you two ladies from?" one guy asked.

"Go away," Mae said.

"I think you've just arrived from Sulks Ville," replied the other guy.

"Go away," Mae repeated.

Amanda cleared her throat, and nodded to where Steven and Logan were sitting.

"On second thought, please sit down."

The boys took the invitation and sat down.

"Haven't seen you two around," said Amanda.

"We don't come here very often," the first guy replied.

"Well, are you going to tell us your names?" Mae questioned.

"Josh."

"Nathan."

"I'm Mae," I responded.

"Amanda."

"Nice to meet you," said Josh.

"Would you two like to go out tomorrow night?" Nathan asked.

"Sure," Amanda answered.

"Dinner and a movie?" Josh questioned.

"Sounds good. How about seven?" Mae replied.

"We can't come pick you up if we don't know where you all live," Nathan responded.

They gave Nathan and Josh Amanda's address and then got up and left. As they passed by Steven and Logan's table they flipped our hair.

"Hey!" Logan called out.

Amanda and Mae turned to see two girls going over to Steven and Logan.

"You two want to go out tomorrow night?" Logan asked.

"Sure," said the first girl.

"Awesome," Logan replied.

"So, you're not going to have your parents interrogate us are you?" Steven questioned.

"No, of course not," responded the second girl.

"That's good, because our ex-girlfriend's parents, interrogated us," Logan said.

"That's horrible," replied the first girl.

"I know," Steven responded.

"And you're not going to push me away when I try to do something are you?" Logan inquired.

"No, why would I do that?" said the second girl.

"My ex was so high-strung, and had such high standards that only occasionally I could do this," Logan replied taking the girl's hand.

"So, meet you here tomorrow for a movie?" Steven pried.

"Yeah, sure," the girls said in unison before getting up.

Mae was extremely angry with Logan and Steven, shed wanted to go over and punch their lights out.

"I can't believe they said all that," said Amanda.

"Me neither, I want to go over there and punch their lights out," Mae replied.

"Who needs boys?" Amanda asked.

"You got that right," Mae answered.

"Come on, let's not think about them, and we can't let it ruin our shopping," Amanda responded.

"Sounds good," Mae said.

The next night Mae came out of her room in the dress she wore on my second date with Steven.

"Where are you going?" Rigsby asked.

"Out," Mae answered, she still wasn't very happy with Grace and Rigsby, and she wasn't on speaking terms with them unless it was absolutely necessary.

"With who?" Rigsby questioned.

"Amanda," Mae said.

"Dressed like that?" Rigsby inquired

"Yes," Mae replied.

"You're going out with a boy aren't you?" Rigsby pried.

"So what if I am?" Mae responded.

"Grace! Mae's going out with a boy!" Rigsby yelled.

Grace came running out of her bed room.

"Where are you going?" Grace asked.

"Out," Mae answered.

"With who?" Aunt Grace questioned.

"Amanda," Mae said.

"Dressed like that?" Grace inquired.

"Yes," Mae replied. _Geez._

"You're going out with a boy aren't you?" Grace pried.

"So what if I am, what's it to you?" Mae asked.

"Mae," Grace sighed.

"What?" Mae questioned, quite frankly she was starting to get annoyed.

"I don't think this is the best idea," said Grace.

"Why not?" Mae inquired.

"You're not emotionally stable," Grace replied.

"I'm fine," Mae responded.

"No, I don't think you are," said Grace.

"Really, I'm fine. You are my aunt, but I'm eighteen, and you're not my mother." I turned to Rigsby. "You're not my uncle, and most importantly, you're not my father!" Mae yelled as she stormed out of the house. Mae soon arrived at Amanda's house and laid on the horn. Moments later, Amanda came out.

"Hey," Mae said as she pocketed her keys.

"You ready?" Amanda asked.

"Totally, you?" Mae answered.

"Yeah," Amanda replied.

Just then Josh and Nathan pulled up and they got in the car.

* * *

"I didn't like the looks of those boys," said Mrs. Masters.

"Me neither," replied Mr. Masters.

"Why do I get the feeling that compared to those boys, Steven and Logan are angels?" Mrs. Masters asked.

"Probably because they are," Mr. Masters answered.

"Oh, let's face it, Steven and Logan are angels," Mrs. Masters responded.

"We were too hard on them," Mr. Masters said.

"We were too hard on all four of them," Mrs. Masters replied.

"That we were," Mr. Masters agreed.

"I'm worried about the girls, I'm going to call Grace," Mrs. Masters responded.

* * *

Van Pelt and Rigsby were sitting around, both having a bad feeling about Mae going out, and both of them had their cellphones out on the coffee table, waiting for a call. Suddenly, Van Pelt's phone rang.

"Van Pelt."

"Grace," said Mrs. Masters.

"Hi Kim," Van Pelt replied, she put her on speaker.

"Did you happen to get a look at the boys Mae and Amanda are going out with?" Mrs. Masters asked.

"No," Van Pelt answered.

"We did and they look like thugs," Mrs. Masters responded.

"How?" Rigsby questioned.

"Hi Wayne," said Mrs. Masters. "The car was old and beat up. Music was blaring from the radio. Their pants were way too baggy so that you could see their underwear, and they had on nothing but wife-beaters under jackets."

"Oh," Van Pelt replied.

_Ask them if they want to come over _Rigsby mouthed.

"Do you two want to come over?" Van Pelt inquired.

"Yes, that would be nice," Mrs. Masters responded.

"All right, see you in a bit," said Van Pelt before hanging up.

About ten minutes later Mr. and Mrs. Masters arrived. The four of them sat in the living room talking and waiting for any one of the phones to ring at any given moment.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for reading this story and I hope you're enjoying it.**

**DebbieOz: I guess you'll just have to continue reading to see if anyone is feeding Red John information or if he's just being a stalker.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princes**


	9. Chapter 9

When they arrived at the movie theater all four of them got out of the car and started to head for the entrance when suddenly Nathan started leading Mae down an alley.

"What's going on?" Mae asked.

"It's all right, my brother works here, and he can pull some strings; we're going in the back way," Nathan answered.

"Oh," Mae said.

About half-way down the alley Mae realized that what Nathan had told her was a lie.

"Nathan, what's going on?"

Nathan backed Mae up against the wall, and took her purse.

"Give it back!"

He began rummaging through Mae purse, he pulled out her wallet. "Your debit card probably isn't good," he said. Nathan ended up taking her money, which was over $100. "Give me your jewelry."

Mae took off her jewelry and handed it to Nathan; he also took whatever he deemed valuable from her bag.

"All right, you got what you wanted, can I please leave?" Mae said.

"You may know my name, but you're not going to call the cops are you?" Nathan replied.

Mae didn't need to call the cops, she could call Grace and she would take care of it or Rigsby, he would take care of it too, but probably not in a good way. Apparently Mae took too long to answer because Nathan drew out a knife and pressed it to her throat.

"Now are you going to behave?" Nathan asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"So I won't have to use this?" Nathan questioned referring to the knife.

"No," Mae responded.

"Now there's only one more thing," said Nathan.

"What?" Mae inquired.

Nathan's hands became mischievous on her top.

"Stop!"

Nathan shoved me to the ground, straddled her hips and tore her dress.

"Stop!"

"Oh, stop it," said Nathan.

"You stop it," Mae replied.

Nathan slapped her across the face. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Mae responded.

"You don't tell me what to do," said Nathan.

"Help!" Mae exclaimed.

Nathan slapped her again, but harder this time. "You didn't."

"Help!"

He slapped Mae once again. She tried to yell again, but Nathan slapped her once more, that slap was the hardest.

"Shut..."

"Get off of her," came a familiar voice.

Mae saw Steven standing in the alley.

"Who are you?" Nathan demanded.

"Someone who isn't going to let this happen. Who are you?" Steven said.

"Her boyfriend, now leave," Nathan replied.

"No, I'm not going to let you do this to her," Steven responded as he pulled Nathan off of me.

"Steven watch out he has a knife!" Mae exclaimed as she stood.

Nathan went over and punched Mae in the stomach. Mae let out a yelp of pain, fell to the pavement, and clutched her stomach. She had the wind knocked out of her. Steven and Nathan got into a fist fight which ended in Steven giving Nathan a few good punches to the stomach.

"Now get out of here!" Steven yelled.

Nathan quickly ran off. Steven came over and Mae laid there breathing fairly heavy. When Steven bent down she cowered in fear.

"It's all right; I'm not going to hurt you."

Mae wasn't comfortable in what she was wearing anymore. Steven took off his jacket, handed it to her, and she put it on. Steven held out his hand for Mae to take, and she, very hesitantly, took his hand, and he helped her up. At first, Mae felt dizzy, but after a moment she felt a bit better, even though her stomach still hurt. When they got to Steven's car she got in the back and lied down. Steven handed her a pillow from the trunk and a bottle of water. Soon thereafter Amanda and Logan arrived. Mae sat up so Amanda could get in.

"Do you want to call your aunt?" Steven asked.

Mae nodded, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed Grace's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Mae."

"Aunt Grace." Mae's voice broke.

"Mae, what's wrong?" Grace asked.

"I should have never gone out with him tonight," Mae answered.

"What happened?" Grace questioned.

"When we arrived at the theater we went back into an alley and he told me that his brother worked here and that we were going in the back way, but about half way down the alley I realized what he told me was a lie, and then he took my purse, and stole some stuff, and he also stole my jewelry, and..." Mae couldn't finish.

"And what?" Grace inquired.

Tears welled in her eyes. "He tried to...rape me." Her voice broke again.

"_**WHAT**_?" came Rigsby's voice from the background.

"Mae, is Amanda there?" came Mrs. Masters voice.

"Yes," Mae said.

"Can you put her on?" Mrs. Masters asked.

Mae handed the phone to Amanda and she talked to Mrs. Masters for a minute before Steven took the phone. He told them that he and Logan happened to be in the right place at the right time and that they were bringing them back. When he was finished he handed Mae her phone.

The drive back to Mae's house was extremely quiet; the only sounds were the hum of the engine and the occasional sniffle from Mae or Amanda. Once Steven caught Mae's gaze in the rear view mirror and she quickly looked away.

"Mae, are you all right?" Steven asked.

Mae didn't answer.

A few minutes later Logan caught Amanda's gaze in the rear view mirror and Amanda quickly looked away.

"Amanda?"

Amanda didn't say anything.

Logan sounded like he was going to say more, but Steven stopped him. They soon arrived at Mae's house and Amanda and Mae got out of the car and they went inside; Mae entered first.

"Mae!" Grace exclaimed as she ran over and took Mae into her arms.

Mae started to cry. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Grace asked.

"For what I said earlier, and the way I've been acting," Mae answered.

"It's all right," Grace said as she rubbed Mae's back.

Moments later Amanda came in.

"Amanda!" Mrs. Masters yelled as she embraced Amanda.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Amanda cried.

"It's all right honey," said Mrs. Masters.

"Why don't you two go into your room and get changed," Grace replied.

Amanda and Mae took off the jackets that Steven and Logan lent them. Mae handed Steven's to Rigsby.

"It's Steven's," Mae said quietly.

Amanda handed Logan's jacket to Mr. Masters. "It's Logan's."

Amanda and Mae went into Mae's room.

* * *

Just as Steven and Logan were about to leave Rigsby knocked on the window.

"We're just doing as I said sir, nothing happened between us, we'll be leaving now," said Steven after he rolled down the window.

"I think these are yours," Rigsby replied as he threw Steven and Logan their jackets.

"Thanks," Logan responded.

"Now, if there is nothing else sir, we must get going, it's late," said Steven.

"Wait," Mr. Masters replied.

"Yes sir," Logan responded.

"Thank you," said Rigsby.

"It was no problem, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Was it a bit personal because it was them? Yes, but any guy with common sense wouldn't have let that happen," Steven replied.

"Well, thank again," Rigsby responded.

"If there's nothing else, we must go," said Steven.

"Wait," Rigsby replied.

"Yes sir," Logan responded.

"Why don't you two come inside?" Rigsby asked.

Logan and Steven knew they were in no rights to refuse so they went in.

* * *

Amanda and Mae sat on my bed talking when suddenly she told Mae to be quiet.

"Steven and Logan are here," said Amanda.

Mae went over and cracked the door open and they listened. After a while we heard Steven and Logan leave.

"Go on, I know you want to."

"Thanks," Mae replied as Mae left.

Mae snuck outside. "Steven."

Steven turned around.

"Can I talk to you?

Steven looked at Logan and Logan nodded.

Suddenly, someone from behind Mae cleared their throat, she turned around and saw that it was Rigsby; he nodded and then went inside.

"What do you want to talk about?" Steven asked.

"Thank you," Mae answered.

"We just happened to be in the right place at right time, no guy with common sense would have stopped him," said Steven.

"Steven, I don't know how to say this, but...I haven't stopped thinking about you. I've really tired, but to no avail," Mae replied.

"Really? Well, let me put this as gently as I can...I haven't stopped thinking about you either. I've tried everything from working out, to playing video games, to working, but nothing has worked," Steven responded.

Mae wrapped her arms around Steven's neck and he wrapped his arms gently around Mae's waist. They both knew what the other was thinking. They met halfway and kissed. About a minute into their kiss someone cleared their throat; they pulled back and saw Rigsby standing there.

"Well, after what I have just seen and heard, Steven, I'm going to punch your lights out," said Rigsby.

Mae clung to Steven. "Rigsby, don't."

"If you two don't have fun at the beach house this weekend," Rigsby added.

"Really? I can go?" Mae asked.

"Yes, you can go," Rigsby answered.

As Rigsby said those words, one word was going through Mae's mind: _**BEACH!**_


	10. Chapter 10

Come Friday morning Steven came and picked Mae up.

"This your dad's truck?" Mae asked.

"Yes," Steven answered.

Hitched to the back of the truck was a trailer which was carrying an ATV. Mae raised her eyebrows.

"Don't you know guys are just big boys with big toys? And this is my toy; I don't get to take it out very often."

"I hope you plan to share said toy," Mae said.

Just then Rigsby came out of the house and he stopped the ATV. Mae instantly knew that he liked it.

"I hope you're not planning on letting her ride that," said Rigsby.

Steven and Mae look disappointed.

"You better make her hold on tight, and if no one is around...you can do 50."

"Yes sir," Steven replied.

"Your aunt and I agreed that since it got stolen..." Rigsby started as he pulled out his wallet and handed me $120.

"Thanks?"

"All right, if you don't want it," Rigsby said.

Mae stuffed the money in her purse. "Mine."

"All right you two have fun," Rigsby replied.

"Thanks, and you too," Mae responded.

"Don't worry, we will," said Rigsby in a knowing tone.

"Let's go," Mae replied.

"Are you hungry?" Steven asked once they got going.

"Yes, you?" Mae answered.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten yet," said Steven.

"Me neither," Mae replied.

"Where do you want to go? McDonald's, Burger King, IHOP, Bob Evans..."

Mae perked up at Bob Evans.

"Call Amanda and tell her to meet us there."

"Hey," said Amanda.

"Hi, have either of you eaten breakfast yet?" Mae replied.

"No," Amanda responded.

"Meet us at Bob Evans in ten minutes," Mae said.

"All right, see you then," Amanda replied.

About ten minutes later the four of them arrived at Bob Evans and they were seated.

"Now Logan, order only one Sunshine Skillet, not two, you don't want to scare the waitress do you?" said Steven.

"What it's not like you're paying," Logan replied.

"That's right, I'm not paying for you, but I am paying for Mae," Steven responded.

"Steven, that isn't necessary," Mae said.

"Don't worry about it," Steven replied. "Why don't you try something else for a change?" Steven asked Logan.

"Yeah, variety is the spice of life," Amanda responded.

"You're one to talk Ms. I-always-get-the-cinnamon-stuffed-pancakes," Mae said.

"All right, Logan let's make them happy and I'll try a bite of your Sunshine Skillet and you can try a bite of my pancakes," Amanda replied.

"Sounds good," Logan responded.

When the waitress came to take our orders Logan order the Sunshine Skillet, Amanda ordered the cinnamon pancakes, Steven ordered the Border Scramble, and Mae order the Veggie Omelet. About twenty minutes later the waitress came back with their food. As soon as the waitress set down Logan's food Amanda took a small bite.

"That's pretty good," said Amanda.

When the waitress set down Amanda's food Logan took a fork-full of pancakes, and shoved it in his mouth.

"Logan, I need to warn you that it's sweet."

"Did you just say sweet?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Amanda answered.

"May I?" Steven questioned.

"Sure," Amanda replied.

Steven took a small bite of pancake and placed it in his mouth. Steven's eyes lit up. "That really shouldn't have gone in Logan's mouth."

"Why?" Amanda inquired.

Logan's eyes became dilated.

"That's why," Steven responded.

"He shouldn't have sugar this early in the morning," Amanda said, it wasn't a question.

"No," Steven replied.

Logan switched his and Amanda's plate and began scarfing down the pancakes. The waitress looked on with horror. Steven handed her $5.

"Sorry you have to see this, I promise, we will pay you well," said Steven.

The waitress set the rest of the food down and quickly walked away. When it was time to leave they left the waitress a twenty five percent tip. Steven, Amanda and Mae felt really bad for her. Sometime later they pulled into the driveway of beach house and they went inside.

"Oh. My. Word. Steven, what do your parents do for a living?" Mae said as she looked around.

"You know the local R.L?" Steven asked.

"Red Lobster, yeah," Amanda answered.

"My mom is the manager," Steven replied.

"No way, and let me guess, she's head chef as well," Amanda responded.

"Yeah," Steven said.

"That's where you looked familiar, you worked as a waiter sometimes," Amanda replied.

"Sure did," Steven responded.

"What does your dad do?" Mae questioned.

"He's in banking. Now, ya'lls room is over there," said Steven as he pointed down the hall.

"Do you need to get changed?" Logan inquired.

"No, I'm all ready to go," Mae said.

"Me too, and did you really think that were going to leave you alone with the fudge, cookies and cake?" Amanda replied.

"We were hoping," Logan responded.

"Are we going to stand here or are we going to go down to the beach?" Mae asked.

"Let's go," Steven answered.

When they got down to the beach they set up their stuff right by the high tide line, it was close to the water, but far enough away that they wouldn't have to move it later.

"I don't know about you, but I'm sweating," said Steven. "I hope you don't mind," he added as he stripped off his shirt.

Mae' eyes widened and she felt her jaw drop. Amanda waved her hand in front of Mae face, and she pushed her hand away.

"What?" Steven questioned.

"I knew you were muscular, but I didn't know you were a god," Mae replied.

"I try," Steven responded.

Mae stripped off her shirt and slipped out of her shorts, leaving her standing there in her bikini. Steven's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Logan waved his hand in front of Steven's face and Steven pushed Logan's hand away.

"I knew you were pretty, but I didn't know were Aphrodite," said Steven.

I smiled and blushed.

Logan quickly stripped off his shirt and Amanda gawked in awe. Mae waved her hand in front of Amanda's face, and she pushed Mae's hand away.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were perfection incarnate," said Amanda.

Logan just laughed.

Amanda stripped down into her bikini, and Logan just stared.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"Wow, I...um, wow," was all Logan could say.

"Amanda, I think you broke him," Steven replied.

"I didn't mean to," Amanda responded.

"I'm all right," said Logan.

"Are we going to just stand here or are we going to get in the water?" Mae demanded.

Amanda gave Mae a knowing look as she scooped up some water and Mae followed. They threw the water on Steven and Logan.

"Water fight!" they exclaimed in unison.

Steven and Logan chased the girls into the water and they splashed around for a few hours. When it was time to eat they dried off and had a picnic on the beach. Just before it got dark they packed up and went back up to the condo. Logan and Amanda went out to dinner while Steven and Mae stayed at the condo for dinner. As Mae was brushing her hair a note was slipped under the door. Mae got up and read it.

_I know you're not one for sweets, but I have a surprise for you. Be out in the hot tub in your bikini in five minutes_

When Mae was about half way done getting into another bikini, her phone vibrated; Mae picked up her phone and saw that she had a text. She opened her phone and saw the text was from Red John.

_Having fun? You look really pretty right now._

Mae had to admit she was a bit freaked. _What do you want?_

_Just checking up on my baby girl._

_I'm fine._

_You sure do look pretty in your white bikini top with red roses, khaki shorts and your hair pulled back._

_Why are you watching me?_

_I really need to keep an eye on those guys, especially the one named Steven, and perhaps I need to teach him a lesson if he ever hurts my little girl._

Mae quickly shut her phone and dialed Grace's number.

"Van Pelt," said Grace breathlessly.

"Aunt Grace," Mae replied.

"Mae, what's going on?" Grace responded.

It suddenly clicked. "I caught you in the middle of it didn't I?"

"If you really want to know what I'm doing remember the talk I gave you, but what's going on?" said Grace.

Mae really didn't want that mental picture. "He texted me."

"What?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, and he said he was watching," Mae answered.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?" Grace questioned, concern filling her voice.

"No, I'm fine," Mae replied.

"Are you sure?" Grace inquired.

"Yes, I'm sure," Mae responded.

"All right, call me if it happens again, and I will come and pick you up," said Grace.

"Will do, call you later," Mae replied.

"Bye" Grace responded.

Mae closed her phone, finished changing and went out to the hot tub, after that she really needed to relax. When Mae walked out onto the patio Steven was sitting in the hot tub. Next to the hot tub was a table with a chocolate and a tray of fruit. Mae smiled and climbed into the hot tub next to Steven.

"What took you so long?" Steven asked.

"He texted me," Mae answered.

"What did he say?" Steven questioned.

"He told me that he was watching," Mae said.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Steven inquired.

"No, I'm fine" Mae responded as she laid her head on Steven's shoulder.

"Well, let's not worry about that right now. We have milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate," Steven said as he picked up a strawberry and dunked it in the dark chocolate.

Steven held it out for Mae to take a bite and she did.

"That's really good," Mae replied.

Mae picked up a piece of banana, dipped it in the milk chocolate and fed it to Steven. As soon as he was done chewing he leaned in and gave her a kiss; Mae returned the favor. Steven placed his hands on her cheeks and she entangled my fingers in his hair as they continued to kiss. Suddenly, Steven touched the tip of his tongue to Mae's, which took her by surprise, but Mae supposed it was his way of asking for the kiss to become passionate and Mae gave him permission by touching the tip of her tongue to his. Before Mae knew it our kiss was extremely passionate. Steven ran his hands up and down Mae back while she played with his hair. Steven backed Mae up against the side of the hot tub and they continued kissing. Steven straddled Mae's hips. Suddenly, Steven's hands went to the ties that held Mae's bikini on, and she knew what he was thinking. Mae pulled back.

"Stop," Mae said.

Steven got off of her. "Sorry."

"I guess we both got carried away," Mae replied.

"I suppose we did," Steven responded.

There was a moment of silence.

"I have something for you."

"You do?" Mae asked.

"Yes," Steven answered as dried his hands and reached somewhere behind him.

Steven pulled out a polar bear.

"Ah, it's so cute," Mae said.

"Her name is Angel. An angel for my angel, and I think Angel has something for you," Steven replied.

Mae dried off her hands and took Angel from Steven, she was careful to make sure Angel didn't get wet.

"Look around her neck."

Mae looked and around Angel's neck was a silver necklace with diamonds and emeralds.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, it's so pretty," Mae responded.

Steven took the necklace off Angel and put it on Mae. They sat there for a while feeding each other bits of bananas, strawberries, pineapple, and raspberries. Sometime later, the patio door opened and Amanda walked out.

"I...um...I'm going to leave you two alone," she said as she walked back in.

Moments later Logan came out. When he spotted the chocolate fountain he came over and took a piece of pineapple dunked it in the milk chocolate, then the white chocolate and last the dark chocolate. Mae slapped Logan's hand as hard as she could.

"You! Oh, no you didn't!" Mae exclaimed.

"That was so good," Logan said.

Logan then did the unforgivable; he ran his finger through the dark chocolate, stuck his finger in his mouth and ran his finger through the dark chocolate again.

"_**LO**__**GAN!**_"

Logan quickly ran back inside. Steven and Mae sat in the hot tub for about twenty minutes before getting out. Mae quickly changed into her PJ's and Steven came into the room.

"I have just one more thing for you," said Steven.

"You do?" Mae asked.

"Yes, lay on the bed, face down," Steven answered.

Mae was skeptical.

"It's all right, I'm not going to do anything, I promise."

Mae hesitantly lied on the bed face down. Steven came over and started to massage Mae's back. She let out a happy sigh.

"Are you enjoying this?" Steven questioned.

"Immensely," Mae replied happily.

Steven chuckled. "Good."

Steven continued to massage her back for a while and then eventually Mae fell asleep.

* * *

Once Mae had fell asleep Steven gently turned her so she was on her back, he tucked Angel under her arm and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Good night," Steven whispered.

Steven went into the living room and shortly thereafter Amanda and Logan came inside.

"So, how did she like the bear?" Amanda asked.

"She loved it, thanks," Steven answered.

"And the necklace?" Amanda questioned.

"Loved it too, and again, thanks, and be quiet when you go in there, she's already asleep," Steven said.

"All right, I think I'm going to retire for the night," Amanda replied before going into the bedroom.

* * *

The four of them stayed at the beach for another two days. When Steven dropped Mae off Rigsby and Grace came out and met them.

"So did you two have fun?" Grace asked.

"Yes we did," Mae answered.

"I hope nothing happened," said Rigsby.

"Nothing happened," Steven said.

"Mae, you got burned. Did you not put on sunscreen?" Grace replied.

"Yes, I put some on, but what did a little sun ever hurt anyone?" Mae responded.

"Oh, I'll show you," said Rigsby.

Rigsby went over and pulled Mae into a bear hug.

"Let go, let go, let go!" Mae exclaimed.

Rigsby let her go. "See?"

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Mae replied.

"Well, I think I am going to go," Steven responded.

"All right, I'll call you later," Mae said.

"Okay," Steven replied before giving Mae a quick kiss.

Once Steven was gone Rigsby, =Grace and Mae went inside, Mae put her stuff in her room and then came back out with Angel.

"Where did you get that?" Rigsby questioned.

"Steven gave her to me, her name is Angel," Mae said.

At that moment Grace caught sight of the necklace.

"And where did you get that?" Grace inquired.

"Steven gave it to me," Mae replied.

"I think I'm going to have to borrow that," Grace responded as she reached for the necklace.

Mae swatted Grace's hand away. "No way."

"If you want to get something to eat, I suggest you get it now, because your weekend may be over, but I'm not ready for mine to be over yet," Grace said.

"I'll take your word for it, and I'm going to go out on a limb and ask if the living room is safe," Mae replied.

"Nope," Rigsby responded.

"Good to know," Mae said as she walked into the kitchen and got something to eat, and then she took her food to her room

The following Saturday Mae received a call from the last person she expected.

"Hello," Mae said.

"Hey Mae, you meet me somewhere?" Rigsby replied.

"Are you sure you're not calling for Aunt Grace?" Mae asked.

"Yeah I'm sure," Rigsby answered.

"Where and when?" Mae questioned.

"The Kay Jewelers," Rigsby responded.

"Why?" Mae inquired.

"You'll see," Rigsby said.

"When?" Mae pried.

"The sooner the better," Rigsby replied.

"All right, I'll be there thirty minutes tops," Mae responded.

"Thank, see you then," said Rigsby.

Mae gathered her things and headed toward the front door. "I'm going out."

"With who?" Grace asked.

"Amanda," Mae answered.

"Okay," Grace said.

"I'll call you when I'm on my way back," Mae replied.

"All right," Grace responded.

When Mae arrived at the store Rigsby was already there, Mae got out of her car and walked up to him.

"What are we doing here?" Mae demanded.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you everyone who has read this story so far.**

**Lily: I'm glad you like this story so far, and I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	11. Chapter 11

"Hello to you too," said Rigsby.

"Hi, what are we doing here?" Mae replied.

"I'm going to propose to your aunt," Rigsby responded.

"What, when?" Mae asked.

"Either tonight or tomorrow night, depending on whether or not I find a ring here," Rigsby answered.

"And you want my help," Mae said, it wasn't a question.

"Yes," Rigsby replied.

"Well, what are we standing out here for?" Mae questioned.

Rigsby opened the door and they went inside. The jeweler greeted them and offered his assistance.

"What does your aunt like, gold, silver, or white gold?" Rigsby inquired.

"Silver," Mae responded.

"I want something with some color, I want it to be unique," said Rigsby.

"Any stone other than a diamond is unique, and so is silver," Mae replied.

"What does she like?" Rigsby pried.

"Emeralds, rubies, and sapphires," Mae responded.

Rigsby relayed this information to the jeweler.

"I knew she liked rubies, but I wasn't sure if she likes gold, silver, or white gold, because the necklace Jane gave her was rubies and diamonds set in gold. By the way do you think that is real or fake?" Rigsby said.

"Fake," Mae replied.

"It's real," Rigsby responded.

"What? No wonder she keeps it under lock and key," Mae said.

"She keeps it under lock and key?" Rigsby asked.

"Oh yes," Mae answered.

"Yeah, we had a case that required us to be in Nevada a lot, and Jane borrowed $100 from Lisbon and he won about $250,000, he got your aunt that necklace and the matching earrings, he got Lisbon and emerald and diamond necklace and earrings set in silver."

Mae's jaw dropped. "My dream."

"And he got Cho and I watches," Rigsby added as he held out his wrist.

Suddenly Mae grabbed Rigsby's wrist. "Is that a Rolex?"

"Yes, now let go of my wrist," Rigsby said.

Mae let go of Rigsby's wrist and started walking around the store. At one point she stopped at a display case that held a silver banded ring with a diamond flanked by emeralds.

"Rigsby," Mae called.

Rigsby came over. "What?"

"That one," Mae said as she pointed to the ring.

Rigsby called the jeweler over and he pulled the ring out. Rigsby examined the ring.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Mae replied.

"I think Mae likes it more than her aunt would," Rigsby responded.

"What? Diamonds are a girl's best friend," Mae said.

"Well, if I can't find anything else, I'll get this one," Rigsby replied.

Mae wondered aimlessly towards the back and peered into the display cases. At one point she came across a silver banded ring with a heart-shaped diamond flanked by rubies.

"Rigsby!" Mae hollered.

Rigsby turned away from his conversation with the jeweler and came over.

"What?" Rigsby asked.

"That one," Mae answered as she pointed to the ring.

"Oh, wow, that's amazing," said Rigsby. He motioned for the jeweler to come over. "Can you take that one out please?"

The jeweler unlocked the display case and handed the ring to Rigsby. After examining it carefully, he decided that it was the perfect ring.

"Could you put the other ring back?" Rigsby questioned.

The jeweler turned to go put the other ring back in its proper place.

"Wait, can I see that ring?" Mae inquired.

The jeweler nodded and brought the ring over. Mae tired the ring on and it fit perfectly, she sighed, she really loved that ring, too bad she couldn't have it.

_Maybe Steven will buy it for me for my birthday. _Mae thought.

"Maybe Steven will buy it for you for an engagement ring," said Rigsby.

Mae took the ring off and handed it back to the jeweler. Rigsby put a down-payment on the ring and they left.

"So what are you going to tell Aunt Grace?" Mae asked as they walked out.

"I'm just going to ask her if she wants to go out tonight," Rigsby answered.

"Where are you taking her?" Mae questioned.

"It's a tie between Kobe and Olive Garden," said Rigsby.

"Kobe, take here to Kobe," Mae replied.

"There's only one problem," Rigsby started.

"You don't get a table to yourself," Mae finished.

"Exactly." Rigsby thought for a moment. "Does she like Carrabba's?"

"Yes," Mae responded.

"Good, because we can get a nice, quiet table to ourselves; by the way, what are her favorite types of flower?" Rigsby said.

"Roses, epically pink and white," Mae replied.

"Pink and white roses, I'll remember that," Rigsby responded.

Suddenly, a familiar car pulled into the parking lot.

"Is that Steven's car?" Rigsby inquired.

"I think so," Mae said.

Sure enough, seconds later, Steven stepped out of his car. He didn't realize Rigsby and Mae were standing there until he was about two yards away.

"Mae?" Steven asked.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," Mae answered.

"Hello Steven," said Rigsby.

"Hello sir," Steven replied.

"What are you doing here?" Rigsby questioned.

"My mom found an old ring that didn't fit her anymore, so she asked me to come pick it up. What are you two doing here?" Steven responded.

"Rigsby is going to propose to my aunt tonight, and he needed my help in picking out a ring," Mae said.

"Oh, well, I hope things go well," Steven replied.

"Thanks, now I'm going to go now. I'll see you later," Rigsby responded as he walked off.

"Want to come over tonight?" Mae inquired once Rigsby was gone.

"Sure," Steven said.

"All right, I'll call you about ten minutes after they leave," Mae replied.

"Sounds good," Steven responded.

Mae stretched up and gave Steven a kiss; they stood there for about ten seconds kissing when someone laid on the horn. They pulled back and saw that it was Rigsby who was laying on the horn.

"Mae, get in your car now!" Rigsby yelled.

"That's my cue, I'll call you later," Mae said.

"Love you," Steven replied.

"Love you too," Mae responded as she walked towards her car.

* * *

As soon as Steven was sure that Mae was gone he walked into the store and was greeted by the jeweler.

"I'm looking for a ring," said Steven, he felt completely lost.

"What for?" the jeweler asked.

"If all goes well, I'll be engaged," Steven answered.

"Aren't you a little young to be engaged?" the jeweler questioned.

"Haven't you heard of high school sweethearts?" Steven replied.

"There are not a lot of those anymore," the jeweler responded.

"I know she likes emeralds, and she likes silver," Steven said.

"There was a young lady in here just a bit ago who looked at one ring in particular, and she really liked it," the jeweler replied.

"Did she have red hair, green eyes, and was she with a man who looked to be in his 30s?" Steven inquired

"Yes," the jeweler responded

"She's the one," Steven said quietly.

The jeweler went and pulled out the ring that Mae had looked at. Steven examined the ring closely and decided that it was perfect. Steven ended up paying for the ring, in cash, and the jeweler was quite surprised.

"Thanks for helping me out," Steven said as he walked out.

"Anytime sir, and good luck," the jeweler replied.

* * *

At about 6:30 Rigsby came by and picked Grace up.

"Have fun," Mae said.

"Thanks, we will," Grace replied.

"Good luck," Mae mouthed to Rigsby.

"Thanks," Rigsby mouthed back.

About ten minutes after Grace and Rigsby left Mae called Steven.

"Hey," Steven said.

"Hey, they're gone," Mae replied.

"All right, I'll be there in a bit," Steven responded.

"Love you," Mae said.

"Love you too," Steven replied.

About ten minutes later there was a knock on the front door. Mae got up from the couch and answered the door.

"You must have sped over here," Mae said as she let Steven in.

"Well, there are two less cops on the road tonight," Steven replied.

"They're not cops, and you better not let them hear you call them that," Mae responded.

"May I have a grand tour of the house, since the last time I was here I was interrogated?" Steven asked.

"Sure," Mae answered. She gave Steven the grand tour, but skipped Grace's room, and last, but not least she showed him her room.

"Wow, this is nice, did you design it?" Steven questioned.

"Yes, but Aunt Grace helped me decorate it," Mae said.

"Have you ever considered majoring in interior design?" Steven inquired.

"Not really," Mae replied.

"You should, you're really good," Steven responded.

"Really?" Mae asked.

"Yes," Steven answered as he walked around the room, he came to a stop at the shelves. Steven looked at the picture of Mae and her parents. "Your parents?"

"Yes, I miss them," Mae said.

"I bet, your mom and your aunt look a lot alike," Steven replied.

"I know," Mae responded.

Steven then turned his attention to Snowy.

"To you, what does it look like?" Mae questioned.

"A wolf," Steven said.

"Thank you, because he thought it was a cross between a dog and a bear," Mae replied.

"Who? Rigsby?" Steven inquired.

"No," Mae responded.

"Then who?" Steven pried.

Mae gave him a knowing look.

"He was in here?"

"Yes," Mae said.

"When?" Steven pressed.

"When I was sick," Mae replied.

"Please stop, or else I might do something foolish," Steven responded.

Mae stretched up and gave Steven a kiss, and it soon became passionate. Before she knew it, she was flat on her back on her bed. When she needed air, she pulled back.

"I hope you don't mind," said Steven as he stripped off his shirt.

Mae sighed happily.

"You've just wanted to see me shirtless since the beach haven't you?"

"Can you blame me?"

"No, I guess not."

Steven and Mae went back to kissing, and then suddenly her phone began to vibrate. She pulled back, grabbed her phone and opened it. She saw that she had a new text. She opened the message, and saw that it was from Red John.

_I thought you weren't going to go that far u__ntil __after_ _you were married._

Mae breathing became slightly heavy. _What do you want?_

_Just keeping an eye on my baby girl._

_I'm 18 not 8, I don't need to be watched._

_Apparently you do._

_No, I don't, besides how do you know what I'm doing?_

_You were the one who decided to stay under the covers._

_**YOU BUGGED MY ROOM**__?_

_I need to keep an eye on my baby girl._

"Steven, get up and put your shirt back on now," Mae said as she shut her phone.

"Why?" Steven asked.

"He bugged my room," Mae answered.

Steven quickly jumped up and put on his shirt. "When did he do that?"

"When he came in when I was sick," Mae said, "but I have a feeling he bugged the place before that."

"We need to find that bug," Steven replied.

"I agree," Mae responded.

After several minutes the found a small camera and a microphone right by Snowy and the picture of Mae and her parents. Steven and Mae took them out to the kitchen table and Mae grabbed a hammer out of the garage and smashed them to bits.

"Want to watch TV?" Mae asked.

"Sure," Steven answered.

"What do you want to drink?" Mae questioned.

"Do you have Dr. Pepper?" Steven inquired.

"Of course, regular or berries and cream?" Mae asked.

"Regular please," Steven said.

Mae grabbed one can of regular Dr. Pepper and one can of berries and cream out of the fridge, and then she joined Steven on the couch.

"Where are you planning on going to college?" Mae questioned.

"University of Sacramento," Steven replied.

"No way, that's where I'm going," Mae responded.

"That's amazing, Logan is going there too," Steven said.

"Aren't you two going on football scholarships?" Mae inquired.

"Yes," Steven answered.

"What are you going to major in?" Mae asked.

"I'm debating between two things," Steven replied.

"What?" Mae questioned.

"Business, and music," Steven responded.

"I also have some other things I've been considering for majors," Mae said.

"What?" Steven inquired.

"Acting, or law enforcement/criminal justice," Mae replied.

"Really?" Steven asked.

"Yes, Rigsby said I would make a good CBI agent, except for one thing," Mae answered.

"And what would that be?" Steven questioned.

"I brake too easily," Mae responded.

"And I didn't know you were into acting," Steven said.

"Yes, I took Drama every year, and I was in all the plays," Mae replied.

"I didn't know that," Steven responded.

"Well, now you do," Mae said.

"I love you so much," Steven replied.

"I love you too," Mae responded.

"No, I really mean it, I don't know what I would have done this summer if it weren't for you, I know we went through a rough patch, but it was my fault, I could honestly see us spending quite some time together," Steven said.

Mae had never known Steven felt that way. She reached up and stroked Steven's cheek and then she planted a soft kiss on his lips. "The summer isn't over yet."

"You're right," Steven replied.

Sometime later Mae's phone vibrated. She answered the phone. "Hello."

"Hey, we are on our way," Grace replied, she sounded really happy.

"All right, see you in a little bit," Mae responded before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Steven asked.

"Aunt Grace, she and Rigsby are on their way," Mae answered.

"Oh, will you be ok here by yourself?" Steven questioned.

"Yes I'll be fine," Mae said.

"I'll be right back," Steven replied as he got up off the couch. A few moments later Steven returned. "Close your eyes."

Mae closed my eyes and Steven placed something in her arms.

"Open your eyes."

Mae opened her eyes and saw Angel sitting in her arms.

"Angel wishes to keep you company."

"Well, that's very nice of her," Mae said.

"All right I'm going to go," Steven replied.

"I'll call you in little while to let you know how things went," Mae responded.

"Sounds good," Steven said.

"I love you," Mae replied.

"I love you too," Steven responded before giving her a kiss and leaving.

About twenty minutes after Steven left the door opened and Grace and Rigsby came in. Rigsby walked into the living room.

"This would be believable if you weren't holding Angel and one of the cans of Dr. Pepper were not here," said Rigsby.

Mae quickly got up and tossed one of the cans of Dr. Pepper. "So how did it go?"

"You little sneak," Grace answered.

"So I'm guessing all went well?" Mae questioned.

"Yes," Rigsby replied.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but there is something I have to show you," Mae responded.

"What?" Grace inquired.

She motioned them over to the table and showed them the smashed camera and microphone.

"What is it?" Rigsby pried.

"A smashed camera and microphone," Mae said.

"Where did it come from?" Grace pressed.

"He set it up," Mae replied.

"_**WHAT**_!" Grace exclaimed.

"We found them after he texted me," Mae responded.

"Who's 'we'?" Grace asked.

"Steven and I," Mae answered.

"Steven was here?" Grace questioned.

"Yes, you trusted us with a beach house for a weekend; can't you trust us with the house for just a few hours?" Mae said.

"I guess so," Grace replied.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed," Mae responded.

"All right, see you in the morning," said Grace.

Mae went into her room and called Steven.

"Hey, so how did it go?" Steven said.

"Great, I'm going to have Rigsby as an uncle," Mae replied.

"That's good, I guess," Steven responded.

"He might as well be my uncle already," Mae said.

"True. Hey, I won't be able to see you tomorrow, but can we go to dinner at Red Lobster?" Steven replied.

"Sure," Mae responded.

Suddenly, Steven became very serious. "Good, because I need to talk to you about something."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you everyone who has read this story so far.**

**Lily: No, Steven didn't steal the necklace. Thanks for reviewing.**

**DebbieOz: It's Red John, what do you expect? Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: In case any of you are confused, some things from the show will stay the same, but I will have a few things changed, such as the fact that Jane gave Van Pelt back the necklace and earrings since she didn't want to give them up in the first place, sorry if there was any confusion.**

* * *

The next night Steven came and picked Mae up at about 6:30. She was nervous about what Steven wanted to talk to her about. When they arrived they were seated promptly and they got a really good table, in the back, and to their selves. Soon the waitress came by and took their order. Mae ordered the Shrimp your way, and she got the scampi, coconut shrimp, and the popcorn shrimp, and Steven got the Admiral's Feast.

About five minutes after they placed our order the waitress came back with their drinks, and sometime later she came back with their food. As they ate, they chatted causally, and after dinner they ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert. When they were done Steven took Mae's hand in his, and then he cleared his throat and pushed back from the table loudly, catching everyone's attention.

Steven stood in front of Mae. "From the moment we met, I knew you were special, and when we went to the beach I knew you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, so with that, I have to ask..." Steven got down on one knee, pulled out a box from his pocket and opened it. "Will you marry me?"

Mae was absolutely stunned; in the box was the exact ring she looked at the day before. A hush fell over the restaurant.

"Say something!" someone exclaimed.

"Yes!" Mae answered as she threw herself into Steven's arms.

Everyone began to clap and cheer. Suddenly the kitchen door opened and out walked the staff to see what was going on. Steven and Mae stood up and he placed the ring on my finger. Mrs. Walker approached us.

"Congrats, and Mae I'm looking forward to having you as a daughter-in-law," said Mrs. Walker.

"Thanks," Mae replied.

"How would you like a job as a waitress?" Mrs. Walker asked.

"That would be wonderful," Mae answered.

"All right, and I don't normally do this, but your meals are on the house," Mrs. Walker said.

"Mom, that's not necessary," Steven replied.

"I insist, and you two can have one free meal a month," Mrs. Walker responded.

"We're in no rights to refuse are we?" Steven questioned.

"No," Mrs. Walker said.

"Thanks Mom," Steven replied.

"Now, back to work!" Mrs. Walker responded as she and the other workers shuffled back into the kitchen.

As they left everyone congratulated them. When they arrived back at the house Steven walked Mae inside.

"So, how was your date?" Grace asked.

"Good," Mae answered happily.

"Someone sounds happy," said Rigsby.

"Oh, yes, I'm very happy," Mae replied as she stretched nonchalantly and held out her left hand.

Grace quickly grabbed Mae's hand and examined the ring. "I'm going to have to borrow this," she responded as she tried to slip the ring off of Mae's finger.

Mae pulled her hand back. "Oh no you don't."

"Please tell me that is a gift," said Grace.

Mae looked at Steven. "Yes and no, we're engaged."

Rigsby grabbed Mae's hand. "Is that..."

"Yes," Mae replied.

"Mae, don't you think you're a bit young?" Grace questioned.

"Aunt Grace, I'm 18, and he's 19, we're technically adults," I responded.

"I guess you're right, but I thought you and Amanda were going to get an apartment together," said t Grace.

"We are," I replied.

"When are you two planning on getting married?" Rigsby inquired.

"We don't know yet," Steven responded.

"Well, we're planning on getting married in September. Why don't you so yours sometime after ours, so we can focus more on one, and then after that's over, we can focus on the other," said Grace.

"Sounds good, Mae replied.

"Well Steven, better start saving every penny possible, because we will be broke by the time this is all over. I mean, in between renting a place, dresses, food, invitations, etc., we'll have no money left," Rigsby responded.

"Oh, my gosh, we have to go shopping for dresses," said Grace.

"Totally," Mae agreed.

Steven and Rigsby just rolled their eyes.

"All right, I'm going to walk Steven out," Mae said. She walked Steven out to his car.

"I think some congrats are in order," said Steven.

"To who, and why?" Mae asked.

"To me," Steven answered.

Mae tilted her head in confusion.

"Because I am engaged to the prettiest, most wonderful girl in all of Sacramento in all of California, in all the United States, and most defiantly the whole world."

Mae gave Steven a hug. "You're the most handsome and most wonderful guy in the entire world."

Steven wrapped his arms around Mae's waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck and they began to kiss; soon it became passionate.

"Get her Steven!" came a familiar voice.

Steven and Mae pulled back and saw Rigsby standing there with the video camera.

"_**RIGSBY**_!" Mae exclaimed.

"And I got that all on camera, even the part about you being the prettiest, most wonderful girl ever, except that you're the second, your aunt is first," said Rigsby.

"Then go spend time with her," Mae replied.

"I will in a minute," Rigsby responded.

"Are you staying the night?" Mae questioned.

"Yes, but I'm not sleeping with your aunt," Rigsby said.

Mae tilted her head in confusion.

Rigsby looked at Mae's window, and she instantly knew what he was thinking "Oh no you don't."

"Oh yes," Rigsby responded before running inside.

Mae quickly turned to Steven. "I love you, and I'll call you tomorrow."

"I love you too," Steven said.

As fast as she could, Mae ran inside and into her room. The sight that greeted her was one of Rigsby lying on her bed in nothing but his boxers, holding Angel.

"_**AUNT GRACE!**_" Mae yelled.

Grace quickly ran into the room. "What?"

Mae pointed at Rigsby.

"Wayne."

"What?" Rigsby asked.

"What are you doing up here?" Grace questioned.

"Just hanging out," Rigsby answered.

"Let Angel go, she's not Mr. Teddykins," said Grace.

Mr. Teddykins was Rigsby's favourite stuffed animal when he was a little kid, according to Aunt Grace, Mae wish she had a video camera, he was right, she really did need to start carrying a camera around with her.

Rigsby got up and grumbled all the way out of Mae's room.

As soon as Grace and Rigsby left Mae hopped on Facebook and changed her relationship status to "In a relationship with Steven Walker" to "Engaged to Steven Walker." Amanda must have been on because suddenly an IM popped up.

_OH MY GOSH!_

_Hey_

_Are you for real?_

_Yes_

_Ring, let me see the ring._

_All right, just a moment._

Mae snapped a picture of the ring and posted it on Facebook.

_That is so pretty._

_I know right, and the thing is, yesterday I went with Rigsby to help him pick out a ring for Aunt Grace, and I was strangely attached to this ring._

_Wow, that's amazing._

_Well, he did go in right after Rigsby and I left._

_I bet the jeweller told him that you were looking at that ring._

_Probably._

_Good-bye, and tell him hello._

Mae turned around and saw Rigsby standing behind her. Mae quickly told Amanda good-bye and shut down her laptop. "What do you want?"

"Just coming in to check on you, saying good night, and congratulating you once more," Rigsby answered.

"Thanks, and good night," Mae said.

"Oh, what's this?" Rigsby questioned as he picked up a bar of dark chocolate that Mae had sitting next to her. Rigsby tore open the chocolate and gobbled it up.

"_**AUNT GRACE**_!" Mae yelled.

Grace ran into the room. "What?"

"Get your pig out of my room!" Mae exclaimed.

"Wayne, what did you do?" Grace asked.

Rigsby licked his fingers. "I was hungry."

"He ate my dark chocolate," Mae said.

"Wayne, I think it would be best if you leave," Grace replied.

"Why?" Rigsby questioned.

Mae jumped on Rigsby's back and began hitting his shoulder. "_**YOU NEVER EAT MY DARK CHOCOLATE**_!"

"That's why," Grace responded.

Rigsby shrugged Mae off and she landed on the bed.

"Well, I think I'm going to take a nap," said Rigsby as he started to lean back.

Mae looked around to see if there was any more chocolate so she could hide it, but then she realized, that was the last of her dark chocolate. Mae let out a growl.

"Grace, what does that mean?" Rigsby asked.

"Mae?" Grace inquired.

"That was the last of my dark chocolate," Mae growled.

"Wayne, I really think you should leave now," said Grace.

Rigsby quickly ran out of the room.

"_**THAT'S RIGHT, YOU BETTER RUN. YOU BIG BABY. I'M GOING TO GET YOU**_!" Mae shouted.

"All right, leave him alone. I think he's sorry," Grace replied.

"He better be," Mae responded.

"I'll talk to him and see if he can make it up to you," Grace said.

"All right," Mae replied.

"Because you're scaring me right now," Grace responded.

"I'm scaring you?" Mae asked.

"Yes, but remember where I work," Grace answered.

"Good night," Mae said.

"Good night," Grace replied as she left.

After they left Mae spent a quiet hour in her room, and for that she was grateful. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

No answer, but the knocking continued.

"Come in."

Still no answer; the knocking became faster.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, geez."

Mae could hear Rigsby laughing before she even reached the door. When she opened the door no one was there, but there was a small basket, inside there was four Hershey's dark chocolate bars, two dark KitKats, and two dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups. Mae grabbed the basket and looked around. Inside the basket was a note with a frowny face that was crying, and in Rigsby's handwriting was the words: "I'm sorry." Mae poked my head out into the hall.

"Thank you Rigsby!"

Mae took one of the KitKats, opened it and took in a whiff of the sweet smell of compensation. Just as Mae was take about a bite of dark chocolate there was another knock on her door.

"Coming."

Mae got up and answered the door. Sitting in the hall was a glass of milk. Mae picked it up.

"Thank you Rigsby!"

Mae took the milk into her room and enjoyed her chocolate; she saved the rest for later. When she was done she changed into her P.J.'s and climbed into bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt like the luckiest woman in the entire universe.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far.**

**Lily: I'm happy to hear that you are so eager to read. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	13. Chapter 13

Sometime after Mae had gone to bed she heard her phone vibrate. She covered her head with her pillow in the fetal hope that it would stop, but it didn't. Eventually she grabbed her phone, and she saw that she had a text. Still half asleep she opened the text and read it.

_Did I wake you up? I just wanted to offer my congratulations._

She instantly knew it was Red John. _I'm trying to sleep, what do you want?_

_Just to off my congratulations._

_What are you talking about?_

_I know about what happened in the restaurant._

_**YOU BUGGED THAT TOO**__?_

_No, I got a live show._

_Where were you sitting?_

_About three tables away._

_I hate you._

_Perhaps it's time I meet Steven._

_Leave him alone._

_And let him know what I except from him._

_I said leave him alone._

_You are to only have one child, if you have any others... _Red John sent her a picture of his famous bloody smiley face._ You know, I was quite upset when I found out that you were mine, I was hoping that if you were__ mine that you would have been a boy._

_You leave us alone; we haven't done anything to you._

_I need someone to carry on after I'm gone._

_Well, it won't be me, so you best find someone else._

_You say that._

_And I mean it. Good night._

Mae put her phone on silent, placed it back on her bedside table and went back to bed. Several hours later Mae woke up to the sound of someone pounding on her door. She covered her head with her pillow.

"Mae," came Rigsby's voice.

She groaned.

"Mae, come on, wake up."

"Go away," she mumbled.

"Please, it's your aunt, I'm really worried about her," said Rigsby.

Mae got up and trudged over to the door.

"Could you go check on her? For the past few hours she's been in the bathroom throwing up, and she locked the door, and we are already late for work."

"I guess," Mae replied as she handed Rigsby her phone.

"Why are you giving me your phone?" Rigsby asked.

"He texted me last night," Mae answered as she made her way to Grace's room When I got to Grace's bathroom door she heard Grace puking her guts out; Mae knocked on the door. "Aunt Grace, are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Aunt Grace, come out, you're late for work."

Still she did not answer.

"Aunt Grace, Rigsby is really worried about you."

"Can you get me some water?" Grace asked, her voice was scratchy.

"I'll be right back," Mae answered. She went out into the kitchen, grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, filled it with water and took it to Grace. When she went back Grace's hand was sticking out of the bathroom, Mae handed her the water and she went back in.

"Aunt Grace, please come out."

"I'll be out in a minute," said Grace.

"You better be," Mae replied. She walked out into the living room where Rigsby was; she plopped down on the couch next to him.

"So?" Rigsby questioned.

"She'll be out in a minute. Did you read the texts?" Mae responded.

"Yes, and thanks for showing them to me," Rigsby said.

About that time Grace came staggering out of the bathroom. Rigsby and Mae stood up.

"Grace, are you all right?" Rigsby inquired.

"You two best sit down," Grace replied.

Rigsby and Mae sat back down.

"Well, first of all, there is no way I can go to work."

"I wasn't going to let you go anyways," Rigsby responded.

"I know what I'm sick with, and I didn't think it was going to be this bad," Grace said.

"What's wrong?" Mae pried.

"I have morning sickness," Grace replied.

It took Mae a moment, but she got it. "Oh, my gosh."

"Morning sickness?" Rigsby was utterly confused.

Mae gave Rigsby a smack.

"What was that for?"

"Leave him alone, he's a guy, he wouldn't know. Wayne, morning sickness is something only girls can get, and she only gets it when she's..." Grace responded. She handed Rigsby something.

"What is this?" Rigsby asked.

"A pregnancy test," Grace answered.

Rigsby cocked his head in confusion.

"It's positive."

The room was completely silent as Rigsby processed what Grace had just said.

"You're pregnant?" Rigsby questioned suddenly.

"Yes," Grace said.

Mae suddenly remembered what Grace told her the last time she found out she was pregnant. Mae stood up. "Well, congrats," she replied tightly.

"Mae, what's wrong?" Grace inquired.

"I hope you don't do what you did last time," Mae responded before going into her room.

* * *

Rigsby sat there in shock for a minute.

"Wayne, are you all right?" Van Pelt asked.

"Yo...you...you're pregnant?" Rigsby stuttered.

"Yes," Van Pelt answered.

"I...I'm...going to be a...father?" Rigsby inquired.

"Yes," Van Pelt said.

Suddenly Van Pelt's legs gave out, and that was all it took to snap Rigsby out of it. He ran over and caught her before she hit the ground, and he helped her to the couch.

"I have to go, I'll be by after work," Rigsby said, his voice somewhat tight.

"Wayne, is something wrong?" Van Pelt asked.

"I'll be by after work," Rigsby repeated.

"Wayne, that's not going to happen, I love our child, and I love you," Van Pelt replied as she stroked Rigsby's cheek.

"I love you too, and like I said, I'll be by after work. What do you want me to tell Lisbon if she asks where you are?" Rigsby responded.

"Tell her I have food poisoning, I can be very convincing, even though this is worse than food poisoning," said Van Pelt.

"All right, try to get some sleep," Rigsby replied.

"I don't think I'll be able to," Van Pelt responded.

"Why, isn't it called morning sickness?" Rigsby questioned.

"Yes, but it can last all day," Van Pelt said.

"Well, at least try," Rigsby replied.

"I will," Van Pelt responded.

Rigsby then headed out to work. When he arrived at work, the first thing Lisbon said to him was: "Where is Van Pelt?"

"I don't know Boss, probably at home," Rigsby answered.

"Cho," said Lisbon.

"Yes Boss," Cho replied.

"Call Van Pelt and find out where she is," Lisbon responded before going back into her office.

"Right away Boss," Cho said.

Cho picked up his phone and dialed Van Pelt's number.

"Hello," Van Pelt answered.

"It's Cho, Lisbon wants to know where you are," Cho replied.

"I'm sick, I can't come into work today." There was a moment's pause. "Excuse me."

A few moments later someone else answered the phone.

"Hello?" Mae asked.

"Is your aunt all right?" Cho questioned.

"Yes and no, she has food poisoning, we ordered Chinese take-out last night, and apparently the meat in hers was rancid," Mae said.

"Thanks, and tell her that I can sympathize with her, because I've had it before, not fun," Cho replied.

"I will," Mae responded.

Just as Cho got off the phone Lisbon came back to the bullpen.

"Well?" Lisbon inquired.

"Van Pelt is sick, apparently she and Mae ordered Chinese take-out last night and the meat in Van Pelt's was bad, so now she has food poisoning," said Cho.

"Lovely," Lisbon replied as she made her way back to her office.

Rigsby got up and walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and Jane followed him.

"Congrats," said Jane.

"What are you talking about?" Rigsby asked.

"Food poisoning, nice touch, I almost believed it," Jane answered.

"What are you talking about?" Rigsby repeated.

"Van Pelt has morning sickness, she's pregnant. She hasn't really been acting like herself, drinking more water than coffee, going to the bathroom more often and her obsession with chocolate and it's not her time of the month. I'm assuming she found out this morning," Jane replied.

Rigsby look around to make sure no one was listening. "Yes."

"Congrats, and you're going to be really happy," Jane responded.

"Why?" Rigsby questioned.

"Because it's going to be a boy," Jane said.

"You think it's going to be a boy," Rigsby replied.

"Nope, I know, you can even ask Amanda, she'll say the same thing," Jane responded.

"Will you just go away," Rigsby said.

Just then Lisbon walked into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Lisbon asked.

"Oh, nothing, Jane's just being himself," Rigsby answered sarcastically.

"Jane, get out, and stopping bothering other people," Lisbon said.

Jane threw his hands up in surrender and walked back into the bullpen.

"It's not food poisoning is it?" Cho asked.

"Nope," Jane answered.

"Morning sickness?" Cho questioned.

"Yup," Jane said.

"Oh boy," Cho replied.

"That's exactly what it's going to be," Jane responded.

* * *

Mae spent all day at the house with Grace in case she needed anything.

"Mae, please don't be mad at me, I know what I did before was wrong and I wish like crazy that I hadn't done it. I'm not going to make that mistake again," said Grace.

"I sure hope not," Mae replied.

"When we find out what the baby is, do you want to help me find things for the baby?" Grace asked.

"Of course," Mae laughed.

"Good, because you were going to anyway," Grace responded.

"Well, I'm going to be in my room if you need me," Mae said.

"All right," Grace replied.

Mae went to her room and hopped on her laptop. She felt bad that Steven had gotten her nice things and she hadn't given him anything, so she decided to make him a CD with romantic songs on it. She chose songs from the following artists: Aerosmith, Alan Jackson, Bryan Adams, Cascada, Celine Dion, George Strait, Howie Day, Jonas Brothers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lifehouse, Selena, Shaina Twain, Taylor Swift, 98 Degrees, Lonestar and Mae was done making the CD she decided to call Steven.

"Hey," Steven greeted.

"Hi," Mae said.

"What's up?" Steven asked.

"Nothing much, just chilling in my room," Mae answered.

"Sounds fun," Steven replied.

"Yeah, well I have to be here for my aunt," Mae responded.

"Is she all right?" Steven questioned.

"Yeah, she just has morning sickness," Mae said.

"What?" Steven inquired.

"She's pregnant," Mae replied.

"Oh," Steven's voice was tight.

"She promised me that she wasn't going to do that ever again," Mae responded.

"That's good," Steven said.

"Rigsby is going to be by after work, do you want to go out to the park?" I asked.

"Sure," Steven answered.

"All right, I'll call you when Rigsby gets here," Mae said.

"Sounds good, see you then," Steven replied.

"I love you," Mae responded

"I love you too," Steven said.

Once Mae got off the phone with Steven she called Amanda.

"Hey girl, what's up?" Amanda greeted.

"Nothing much, but I do have some news," Mae said.

"Tell," Amanda replied.

"My aunt is pregnant," Mae responded.

"What?" Amanda exclaimed.

"Yeah, she found out this morning," Mae said.

"It's going to be a boy," Amanda replied.

"So you think," Mae responded.

"Boy," Amanda said.

"Whatever you say," Mae replied.

"You can even call Uncle Patrick, he'll tell you the same thing," Amanda responded. It was really complicated to say how Jane was related to Amanda so she calls him Uncle Patrick.

"Sure he will," Mae said.

"He will," Amanda replied.

"Well, I need to go check on my aunt, I'll talk to you later," Mae responded.

"All right," said Amanda.

After Mae hung up she checked on Grace. "How are you?" she asked.

"Better," Grace answered.

"That's good, I just got off the phone with Amanda," Mae said.

"Oh, what did she say?" Grace replied.

"She thinks the baby is going to be a boy," Mae responded.

"Does she now?" Grace questioned.

"Yes, and she said Jane would say the same think if you asked him," Mae said.

"Well, they just have an educated guess," Grace replied.

"When Rigsby gets back Steven and I are going to hang out," Mae responded.

"Here or at his house?" Grace inquired.

"Neither, we are going to the park," Mae said.

"Oh, have fun," Grace replied.

As soon as Rigsby got back Mae called Steven.

"Hey, what's up?" Steven greeted.

"Rigsby just got back," Mae said.

"Well then, I'll be right there," Steven replied.

"See you in a few," Mae responded.

About fifteen minutes later Steven pulled into the driveway.

"Bye, be back later!" Mae called as she ran out the door. As she climbed into Steven's car she noticed something smelt very good. "What smells so good?"

"Dinner," Steven answered.

"Oh, I have something for you," Mae said.

"Do you now?" Steven questioned.

"Yes, I'll give it to you once we get to the park," Mae replied.

About ten minutes later they arrived at the park, Steven grabbed a picnic basket and we set up by the lake.

"So where's my gift?" Steven inquired.

"Geez, Mr. Blunt, close your eyes," Mae responded.

"All right, they're closed," Steven said as he closed his eyes.

Mae pulled the CD out of her purse. "Hold out your hands."

Steven held out his hands and Mae placed the CD in his hands. "Open your eyes."

Steven opened his eyes. "What's this?" he laughed.

"In the words of Count Olaf 'on the back, flip it,'," Mae replied.

Steven laughed and flipped the CD over. "I take it that you saw that movie too."

"Yes, of course," Mae responded.

Steven scanned the list of songs. "I see someone watches Lion King."

"Yes, it's a classic," Mae said.

"Well, Amanda should have it memorized word for word and if she does, I'm sure Simby helped her," Steven replied.

Amanda's favorite stuffed animal as a child was a stuffed Simba she called Simby.

"Well, I'm sure Logan's Lambypie helped him memorize some things," Mae responded.

Logan's favorite stuffed animal as a child was a stuffed lamb her called Lambypie.

"Well, how do you like gumbo?" Steven asked.

"I love it," Mae answered.

Steven pulled out a large container of gumbo and Mae's eyes widened.

"My mom made it from scratch," Steven said.

Mae sniffed the sweet aroma of gumbo.

"Go ahead, take a bite." Steven handed her a fork and she took a bite.

"That's amazing," Mae replied.

"It should be, my mom spent all day on it," Steven responded as he pulled out another container. "And for dessert."

The sweet scent of cinnamon filled the air.

"Go ahead, take one."

Mae grabbed a cinnamon stick and took a bite, vanilla and cream cheese filled her mouth. "What's inside?"

"Some have cream cheese, others have vanilla, and I made some that have both vanilla and cream cheese," Steven responded.

"I think I got one with both," Mae said.

"Well, let's dig into the gumbo before it gets cold," Steven replied.

Steven and Mae took turns taking bits of the gumbo until it started to get cold.

"Why don't you take the rest of it home?"

"Really?" Mae asked.

"Yeah, we have plenty at the house. By the way, do you like carrot cake?" Steven answered.

"No," Mae said.

"Well, I think my mom could change your mind, she makes it every year for my dad's birthday since it's his favorite. She spends all day on it, she makes it from scratch. She picks up fresh nuts from the farmer's market the day before, she uses vanilla icing, and everything is fresh. Think you might try carrot cake again?" Steven replied.

"Only if your mom makes it," Mae responded.

"Well she found something she likes, and she's good at it," Steven said.

"She's not good at it," Mae replied.

Steven raised his eyebrows.

"She's awesome."

"I was going to say, I did not hear those words come out of your mouth," Steven responded.

Suddenly it started pouring. They didn't even notice the sky getting dark.

"When did this happen?" Mae questioned.

"I don't know, but let's go," Steven said.

They quickly packed up and ran back to Steven's car.

"I look like a drowned rat, don't I?" Mae asked.

"You can't look worse than I do," Steven answered.

"I always look like a drowned rat when I get soaked by the rain," Mae said.

"Well if that's the case, then you are a very cute drowned rat," Steven replied as he pulled out a towel from his back seat.

"Geez, you are prepared for just about anything," Mae responded.

"Better safe than sorry, now dry off, I don't want you getting sick," Steven said.

Mae ran the towel through her hair and over her arms and legs, and then she handed the towel to Steven and he ran it over himself.

"You see, my back seat doesn't serve much of a purpose except to hold my things because usually it's just you and me, and why would I stick you in the back or why would you leave me up here all by myself?"

Mae just laughed. "Yeah, my back seat doesn't have much of a purpose either, but I can only see one other use for the back seat."

"And what would that be?" Steven questioned.

Mae pulled Steven close and began kissing him passionately. After a moment she pulled back. "Like that, but more passionate and involved, but we're not going there until _**after**_ we are married."

"Yes, we could go on a road trip, get lost..." Steven trailed off. "Well, let's get you home so you can change," he added after a moment.

When they arrived at Mae house Steven didn't walk her inside like he normally did because it was still raining.

"Good night," said Steven.

"Good night," Mae replied.

Steven leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'll call you later."

"All right, I love you," Steven responded.

"I love you too," Mae said. She hopped out of the car and ran inside. Rigsby greeted her.

"What happened to you? You look like a drowned rat," Rigsby laughed.

"Yes I know I do, and it started raining cats and dogs in the middle of our dinner," Mae said as she walked into the kitchen and put the gumbo in the refrigerator.

"Oh, I have something I need to tell you," Rigsby replied.

"What?" Mae asked.

"I'm moving in," Rigsby responded.

He might as well have been living here the whole time. _At least I won't be here when he moves in, _Mae thought_. _She smiled.

"Friday," he added.

The smile quickly left Mae's face. "Couldn't you have waited until _**after**_ I moved out?"

"No, I want to annoy you in your final weeks," Rigsby said.

"Good night," Mae said as she trudged into her room. When she entered her room she flopped down onto her bed face first. There was only one thing she had to say to Rigsby moving in...

_Great._

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far. **

**Lily: I put that note in there for anybody who does watch the show so they didn't get confused, and I highly recommend watching the show, I love it. Thanks for reviewing.**

**DebbieOz: Yeah, Rigsby can have a soft side. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	14. Chapter 14

**Between Ch. 13 and this chapter there is about a three week time skip. It will be about the end of August or the beginning of September at this time.**

* * *

About three weeks after Rigsby moved in, it was time for Mae to move out. That morning Rigsby made breakfast, French toast and bacon. After Mae was done eating Grace handed her an envelope.

"What's this?" Mae asked.

"It's from your parent's, they would have given it to you when you moved out," Grace answered.

Mae opened the envelope and inside was a letter written in her mother's neat handwriting. Tears welled in her eyes as she read the letter. The letter read:

_Dear Mae,_

_We are so proud of the beautiful young woman you have become. We c__an't believe you've grown up so fast. Continue to be yourself and don't change for __anyone__, especially for a boy. Study hard at college and visit often. Take risks, but don't do anything you'll regret. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it, becaus__e there is no shame in asking for help. Just know that we'll always be here for you. You'll always be our baby girl. We love you bunches._

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad._

By the time Mae was done reading the letter tears streamed down her cheeks.

"This is you parent's will," Grace said as she slid Mae a manila envelope.

Mae opened it, took the will out and read it. Everything that was her parent's was her, the house, all their money in the bank, everything.

Grace slid Mae a few slips of paper. "Your parent's bank statements."

Mae's jaw dropped, she couldn't believe how much money her parents had, and that included five years of interest.

"I sold most of your parent's things, since I figured you wouldn't want their clothes or furniture." Grace slid her a check.

Again Mae's jaw dropped. An amount of $5,000 dollars was on the check.

"This was the last offer on the house." Grace slid Mae a piece of paper that was folded.

Mae unfolded the piece of paper. The amount was a staggering $255,000. "When was this offer made?"

"About two weeks ago, you could sell it and make some more money," Grace replied.

"I don't know, the money would be nice, but that was the house I grew up in," Mae responded.

"I understand," Grace said.

Suddenly Mae's phone vibrated. "Hello."

"Hey," Amanda replied.

"What's up?" Mae asked.

"Nothing much," Amanda answered.

"Same, just finishing up breakfast," Mae responded.

"Oh, in that case I'll meet you at the apartment," said Amanda.

"Okay, see you in a bit," Mae replied.

"Bye," Amanda said.

After Mae got off the phone she went back to her room, took a shower, got dressed, gathered up the last of her things, and put them in her car. Mae did one more once over of her room. She had lived there for five years, it was going to feel weird not living there anymore, she was going to miss living with Grace. Finally Mae went out and said good-bye to Grace and Rigsby.

"Call me when you get settled," said Grace.

"I will," Mae replied.

"Well, Squirt, I guess I can't constantly bug you anymore," Rigsby responded.

"No, no you can't," Mae said. She gave Grace a hug, and both of them started to tear up. After a moment she gave Rigsby a hug.

"See you around Squirt," Rigsby replied.

"Good-bye Rigsby," Mae responded.

Grace and Rigsby followed Mae out to her car, she gave each of them one last hug.

"I'll call later."

"You better," said Grace.

Mae then got into her car and drove off. About twenty minutes later she arrived at the apartment. Mae walked in and was greeted by the sight of Amanda unpacking her stuff.

"Hey," Amanda greeted.

"What's up?" Mae said.

"Unpacking," Amanda replied.

"I'm going to get the rest of my stuff out of my car," Mae responded.

"Take your time," said Amanda.

Within three trips Mae got the rest of her stuff out of her car, and then she started unpacking. As Mae was unpacking her phone vibrated. She opened her phone and saw that she had a text.

_Now that you're moved out, I guess I'll have to get you a house-warming gift._

_Don't even think about it._

_I guess I'll have to pay you a visit._

_Leave me alone._

_Fine I'll leave you alone._

That night the both of them went to bed early. On the tenth they started school. Amanda was doing school online while Steven, Logan and Mae were going to school at the University of Sacramento.

The following Saturday Grace had her wedding. It was amazing. Now Mae would have to start calling Rigsby "Uncle Wayne." Grace's dress was beautiful; when Rigsby saw her his jaw dropped a mile. The whole team was there. Cho was the best man, and Jane was a groomsman. Lisbon was a braid's maid, and though Hightower didn't have a part in the wedding, she was there. Even Steven, Logan, Amanda and all their parents were there. After the ceremony there was a reception. They ate, danced and had fun. Finally it was time for Grace and Wayne to leave and go on their honeymoon.

.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: There is about a five week difference between this chapter and ch. 14.**

* * *

About a week before their wedding, Mae moved into what was Steven and Logan's apartment, and Logan moved into the apartment Amanda and Mae had shared. Finally on the thirteenth of September Mae was all moved in. That night she was sitting on her new bedroom when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened and Steven came in.

"Hey."

"Just coming in to say good night," said Steven.

"Aw, how sweet of you," Mae replied.

"So, one more week," Steven responded.

"Yes, I can't wait," Mae said.

"Me neither," Steven replied as he came over and sat on the bed next to her.

Mae laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too" Steven responded.

"Do you want me to see if we can have lunch with my aunt and uncle tomorrow?" Mae asked.

"Sure, that would be nice," Steven answered.

"Well, I'm wiped," Mae said.

"In that case, I'll go, good night my angel," Steven replied before giving Mae a kiss.

That week seemed to drag on forever. Finally the twentieth Mae was in the middle of getting ready when her phone began to vibrate. Mae picked up her phone. "Hello.".

"I wasn't invited to my own daughter's wedding; that hurts, I really wanted to walk my baby girl down the aisle," Red John replied.

"Who is it?" Grace mouthed.

"Red John," Mae mouthed back.

Grace grabbed the phone. "Listen here you miserable bastard, you leave us alone, and don't you even think about showing up, because you will not be welcomed!"

Grace shut the phone and handed it back to Mae.

"I think that might come back and bite you in the butt," Mae said.

"Whatever," Grace replied.

Finally it was time for Mae to get into her dress. The dress was strapless, satin, and it came down to Mae's feet. After her dress was on the veil was placed in her hair, and then she was done.

"By the way, who is supposed to walk you down the aisle?" Grace asked.

"Uncle Wayne," Mae answered.

"That's good, it will mean a lot to him," said Grace.

"I know," Mae replied.

Amanda handed Mae her bouquet of red roses and baby's breath and then we went out into the hall where they met Wayne. A few minutes later, Rhi's little sister, who was the flower-girl, skipped down the aisle, throwing flower petals as she went. Next was Steven's cousin, who was the ring-bearer. After Steven's cousin was Rhi, she was one of Mae's braid's maid, and then there was Amanda, her other braid's maid, and then there was Aunt Grace, her matron of honor. Suddenly, the wedding march began to play. There were only two things keeping Mae from sprinting down the aisle and they were the fact that Wayne had a firm, yet gentle grip on her and the dress made it impossible to run. Steven's blue-gray eyes were gawking at Mae the whole time. Logan, the best-man, elbowed Steven to get him to close his mouth. Among the people present were Lisbon, Jane and Cho. Finally, after what seemed an eternity they came to the end of the aisle.

"Who gives this woman unto this man?" the pastor asked.

"I," Wayne answered.

Wayne gave Mae a hug, she handed my bouquet to Grace and Steven took Mae's hands in his. The majority of the ceremony was one giant blur; the only thing Mae really remembered was when the pastor said: "you may now kiss the bride."

Steven lifted the veil and they shared a kiss; they kept it G-rated because of the little eyes. After the ceremony they went to the reception. Steven and Mae shared their first dance as a married couple, the song they danced to was "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden. After Steven and Mae danced, Steven danced with his mom and Mae danced with Wayne. After a while they ate. Finally it was time to eat cake, and soon thereafter Mae threw the bouquet and Rhi caught it, and Steven found the garter and threw it, and one of his cousins caught it. Finally it was time for Mae and Steven to leave, but before they did, we got changed and said good bye to his parents, Grace and Wayne.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Mae said to Grace.

"All right," Grace replied as she gave Mae a hug.

After what seemed to be an eternity, we finally arrived at the apartment, and Steven carried Mae in. Once they got inside he set Mae on her feet and he pulled her close to him and they started kissing. Suddenly it became passionate. As we continued to kiss Steven backed Mae up against the wall. Steven pressed his body close to her. Suddenly Mae's clothes became extremely irritating and she started feeling hot. Mae slowly slipped out of her shoes and Steven out of his. Mae jumped up and wrapped her legs around Steven's waist and they went into their bedroom.

Sometime the next morning Mae woke up and looked at the clock, it was 10:00. She looked around and noticed that Steven wasn't in the room. Mae got up, got dressed, and went out into the living room. Steven was sitting on the couch watching TV. She sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Did you sleep well my angel?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"You hungry?" Steven questioned.

"Yeah," Mae said.

Steven got up, went into the kitchen and made something for them to eat. After Mae was done eating she called Grace.

"Hey, how are you?" Grace greeted.

"I'm fine, and yourself?" Mae replied.

"I'm good, so, how did last night go?" Grace responded.

"It was amazing," Mae said.

"I'm sure it was; did you massage his chest and abs?" Grace asked.

"Yes, he said it was torture," Mae answered.

"If he thought that was torture, then try some of the yoga moves I taught you," said Grace.

"Mae, no, if you wish to keep him around, don't do it!" Mae heard Wayne yell in the background.

Mae laughed. "All right, I'll call you later, or sometime tomorrow."

"Talk to you later," Grace replied.

"Did I hear your uncle yelling in the background?" Steven asked after Mae got off the phone.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"Why?" Steven questioned.

"You'll find out tonight," Mae said.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Steven replied.

Again that night they made love.

Sometime the next morning Mae felt someone gently shaking her.

"Come on my love, wake up," came a distant, yet familiar voice.

Mae moaned in her sleep and turned over.

"Mae, it's time to wake up."

She moaned again.

"The apartment is on fire."

Mae's eye flew open. "_**WHAT**_?"

"Calm down, the apartment is fine," said Steven.

"Don't scare me like that," Mae replied.

"Sorry, but you wouldn't wake up, it's time to go to school," Steven responded.

"I don't want to go," Mae said.

"I know, but you have to," Steven replied.

"Oh all right," Mae responded as she got up and got dressed.

As the school day went on people congratulated them on their marriage. At lunch Steven and Mae met up with Logan.

"Hey you two," Logan greeted.

"Hi," Mae said.

"What's up man?" Steven asked.

"Nothing much, how about you?" Logan returned.

Steven and Mae looked at each other and then at Logan.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far. **

**DebbieOz: Yes it is a pity, I wish I could add a picture. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	16. Chapter 16

"What?" Steven asked.

Mae handed Steven the pregnancy test. "It's positive."

"We're going to be parents?" Steven questioned.

"Yes," Mae answered as she sat down.

"Mae, how are we going to support a baby?" Steven inquired.

"I don't know, but there is help," she said.

Steven looked confused.

"There are counselors for things like this."

"I don't mind asking for help, but not from people I don't know," Steven replied.

"Well, Amanda is doing school online, I don't think she would mind watching the baby while we are at school or work, and by the time the baby is born, it will be summer," Mae responded.

"I suppose you're right," Steven said.

"Who are we going to tell first?" Mae asked.

"I can tell my parents and you can tell your aunt and uncle, and we can tell Amanda and Logan together," Steven answered.

"All right," Mae said.

Steven got up and went into the bedroom while Mae stayed in the living. She called Grace's cell number.

"Hello," Grace greeted.

"Hey Aunt Grace, is Uncle Wayne there?" I said.

"Hi Mae, yes, just a second." After a moment she added: "Okay, you're on speaker."

"Hey Mae," said Jane.

"Hi," Cho replied.

"Hi Mae, how are you?" Lisbon responded.

"Hi everyone, I was hoping for just Uncle Wayne, but I guess this will do," Mae replied. "Well, Aunt Grace, Uncle Wayne, Steven and I have an early Christmas present for you two, though it will have to be shared by a number of people."

"I don't care, I like presents," Wayne responded.

"Well, Steven and I found out something today," Mae said.

"What?" Grace asked.

"There's no easy way to put this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it; I'm pregnant," Mae answered.

Suddenly, everything became deathly quiet.

"Hello?" Mae asked.

"Oh my word, I'm going to have a great-niece or nephew!" Grace exclaimed.

"Grace, don't strain yourself," said Wayne

"Sorry," Grace replied. "I thought you two weren't going to try to start a family until after you were out of college or in your last semester of your last year of college," she added after a moment.

"Well..." Mae started.

"You haven't been taking your pills have you?" Grace questioned.

"No, not consistently," Mae answered.

"Well, once the baby is born, I'm going to make you a giant sign to put up that says: take your pill," Wayne replied.

"Thanks Uncle Wayne," Mae responded.

"Anytime," said Wayne.

"Hey congrats, I hope I'll get to see the little bundle of joy," Jane replied.

"We'll see," I responded.

"I'll be good, I promise," said Jane.

"Congrats," Cho replied.

"Thanks," Mae responded.

"I'm happy for the two of you," said Lisbon.

"Thank you," Mae replied.

"You all are more than welcome to see the baby, but Jane, you have to be on your best behavior, epically around the time the baby is born," Mae said.

"I will, but let me warn you, you will become moody," Jane replied.

"Well, what do you expect!" Grace exclaimed.

"The baby is kicking isn't it?" Jane responded.

"Yes," said Grace. "Mae, I will pity you, but will not envy you when it comes to the baby kicking."

"Good to know," Mae replied.

"Let me talk to her for a moment," Jane responded.

"Jane wishes to talk to you," said Grace.

"All right, I'll call you later, or sometime tomorrow," Mae replied.

"Hello," said Jane after a minute.

"Yes," Mae replied.

"I still have my daughter's old things, from the time she was born, up until the time she died," Jane responded.

Mae knew what he was thinking. "No, Jane, I couldn't."

"Please, I insist, it would make me feel better knowing that they would be put to good use, and I promise they are in good condition, though they may have to be washed," Jane said.

"All right, if you insist. And what you mean to tell me is that I'm going to have a girl," Mae replied.

"Yes, I insist, and yes, you are going to have a girl, and there is this onesie that I know Steven would love, it's pink and it says: Daddy's Little Princess on it," Jane responded.

"That is just an educated guess," Mae said.

"No, I know that you're going to have a girl, I was right with my wife and I'm right about your aunt and you," Jane replied.

"Good bye Jane," Mae responded before hanging up.

* * *

Meanwhile Steven was talking to his parents.

"Hello," said Mrs. Walker.

"Hi Mom, is Dad around?" Steven replied.

"Hi Steven, yes, just a moment," Mrs. Walker responded.

"Hey son," said Mr. Walker.

"Hey Dad," Steven replied.

"What is it Steven?" Mrs. Walker asked.

"Are you two sitting down?" Steven questioned.

"Yes," Mr. Walker responded.

"Well, Mae and I have an early Christmas present for you two, but it will have to be shared by her aunt and uncle, the both of us, and Amanda and Logan," said Steven.

"Well, what is it?" Mrs. Walker inquired.

"Mae's pregnant," Steven replied.

"What?" Mrs. Walker exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's pregnant," Steven responded.

"I thought you two were going to wait until the both of you were out of college or the last semester of your last year of college," Mr. Walker said.

"So did I, but she hasn't been taking her pills, at least, not on a consistent basis," Steven replied.

"Oh my word, we're going to have a grandson or granddaughter!" Mrs. Walker responded.

"Mom, please, she's already worried that she won't get a lot of time to spend with the baby after it's born because she knows you two, her aunt and uncle, and Amanda and Logan will want to spend time with the baby," Steven said.

"Well, that's what it's like when a baby is born, I was one of the last people to hold you when you were born," Mrs. Walker replied.

"That's real comforting," Steven responded in a sarcastic tone.

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh my word, I'm going to be a father."

"Welcome to my world," said Mr. Walker.

"I'm going to take Mae to the doctor tomorrow, is it all right if we have the day off?" Steven replied.

"Yes, that's fine," Mrs. Walker responded.

"All right, thanks, I'll call you tomorrow to let you know how it went," Steven said.

* * *

A few minutes later Steven came out.

"Well, what did they say?" Mae asked.

"My mom is ecstatic, and my dad is happy. What did your aunt and uncle say?" Steven answered.

"My aunt is also ecstatic, my uncle is happy, so is the rest of the team. Jane thinks the baby is going to be a girl, and if it is, he has his daughter's old things," Mae said.

"No, we can't," Steven replied.

"Jane insisted, and he said it would make him feel better," Mae responded.

"We'll discuss that later. Oh, my mom said we could have the day off since you are going to the doctor tomorrow. Let's call Amanda and Logan," Steven said.

Mae picked up the phone and dialed Amanda's cell number and put her on speaker.

"Hello," said Amanda.

"Hey Amanda, what's up?" Mae replied.

"Nothing much, how about you," Amanda responded.

"Same, is Logan there?" Mae said.

"Yes, just a moment," Amanda replied.

"Hey, what's up?" Logan asked.

"Not much man, how about you?" Steven returned.

"Hey dude," Logan responded.

"Do you want to tell us something?" Amanda questioned.

"Yes," I said.

"Well, are you going to tell us, or are you going to make us guess?" Amanda inquired.

"We found something out today, it's kind-of an early Christmas present, but it's going to have to be shared by quite a few people," Mae replied.

"Come on, just tell us," Logan responded.

"I'm pregnant," Mae said.

"All right Logan, pay up," Amanda replied.

"Do we even want to know?" Steven asked.

"Logan and I made a bet, he said that you two weren't going to have a baby until at least your third year of college, and I said, it would be earlier," Amanda answered.

"Oh," Mae said.

"You're going to need someone to watch the baby while you two are school or work," Amanda replied, it wasn't a question.

"Yes, you wouldn't mind, would you?" Mae questioned.

"No, of course not," Amanda responded.

"Ouch!" Logan suddenly exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Steven inquired.

"Oh, I just hit Logan," said Amanda.

"Why?" Mae asked.

"Because you all thought it would be bad for me to do college online," Amanda answered.

"Sorry about that," Steven and Mae replied at the same time.

"It's all good," Amanda responded.

They talked to Amanda and Logan for a little while longer and then they just sat on the couch.

"So, we're going to be parents," said Steven.

"Yes, we are," Mae replied.

Steven and Mae looked at each other. "We're going to be parent's."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far.**

**DebbieOz: Yeah, I loved that too. No problem.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: There is a time-skip of about 2 months, in ch. 16 it was December and now it is February. Mae is now 19, this chapter takes place one week after her b-day.**

* * *

Since Mae and Steven needed more room because of the baby, they decided to move into Mae's old house. Finally on the 23rd of February they were all moved in.

"I have something for you," said Steven.

"Do you now?" Mae asked.

"Yes, close your eyes," Steven answered.

Mae closed my eyes and heard Steven walk away. Suddenly she felt something licking her face. "Steven, what's going on?"

"Open your eyes," Steven replied.

Mae opened her eyes and saw Steven holding a husky puppy that was white with blue eyes, and she was licking her face.

"Surprise."

"Oh my word," Mae responded.

"Her name is Snowy, she's already weaned, and house broken. She has all her shots, and she's perfectly healthy. So, what do you think?" Steven said.

"She's so cute and perfect, but what made you get her?" Mae replied.

"Well, I don't like the idea of you being alone, and since we couldn't have a dog at the apartment; I decided now was the best time to get a dog. What do you think?" Steven responded.

"I think she's absolutely wonderful," Mae said.

"Well, that's wonderful," Steven replied.

That night they had his parents, Grace, Wayne, Amanda and Logan over for dinner. For dinner Mae cooked yellow rice, chicken, red and green bell peppers, and onions, everyone seemed to enjoy it and they seemed to adore Snowy. That night Steven and Mae went to bed early, it felt strange to Mae to be walking into her parent's old bedroom instead of her own, which was down the hall, and it was going to be the nursery for the baby, but Mae was sure she would get used to it, since this was the house she grew up in, and the house her children were to grow up in, she just hoped she would be a good mother.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far, and sorry for such the short chapter, but I thought that where I ended it would be a good place.**

**Lily: Thanks for the compliment; it means a lot to me. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Until next time!**

**¬Forest Princess**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: There is a time skip between this chapter and the last chapter of about 3 weeks (give or take).**

* * *

On the night of March sixteenth, Grace woke up to a sharp pain shooting through her body that lasted about one minute. Grace got up and walked into the bathroom where she discovered she was wet. About five minutes later another sharp pain shot through her body, and then she instantly knew it was time. She walked back into the bedroom and woke Wayne up.

"Grace, what is it?" Wayne asked once he was some-what awake.

"Wayne, it's time," Grace answered.

"What?"

"It's time," Grace repeated.

Wayne jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. On their way out the door Wayne grabbed a bag they had set by the door.

* * *

Suddenly Mae's phone began to vibrate. Still half asleep she answered her phone. "Hello."

"Mae," said Grace.

"Hi Aunt Grace, is everything all right?" Mae replied.

"Could you meet me and your uncle at the hospital?" Grace asked.

"Why?" Mae questioned.

"I've gone into labor," Grace answered.

Suddenly Mae was wide awake. "What?"

"Yeah," Grace responded.

"All right, we'll be there as soon as we can," Mae said.

"Okay, see you later," Grace replied.

Mae hung up the phone and woke Steven up. "Steven, wake up."

Steven groaned in his sleep and turned to his back was to Mae.

"Come on, Steven, please wake up."

"It's too early," Steven replied.

Mae didn't think he realized what he was saying. Mae started to rub Steven's back somewhat seductively and he moaned happily in his sleep.

"Come on Mr. Sleepy Pants, we need to get going."

"Why?"

"My aunt has gone into labor."

Steven turned over and his eyes were wide open. "What?"

"She just called and told me her and my uncle were on their way to the hospital."

"Well, what are we doing here?" Steven asked.

"You wouldn't wake up," Mae answered.

As soon as they were dressed they locked up the house and met Wayne at the hospital.

"Hi Uncle Wayne," Mae greeted.

"Hey," he replied.

Not long after Steven and Mae arrived Lisbon, Cho and Jane arrived*****.

"Hi Mae," said Lisbon.

"Hey," Mae replied.

"I'm going to go get coffee," Cho responded.

"Could you get me a cup?" Wayne asked.

"Sure, the skies above know you need it," Cho answered.

"Thanks man," Wayne said as Cho walked away.

A few minutes later Cho came back and handed Wayne a cup of coffee.

After many long hours the wait was finally over and Wayne was put out of his misery. When the doctor said Wayne could go see Grace and the baby he ran out of the waiting room as fast as he could.

* * *

Wayne stopped right outside the room in which Grace was in, took a deep breath, let it out, and gathered the courage to knock.

"Come in," came Grace's voice from inside the room.

Wayne opened the door and went inside.

"How are you?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Fine, tired, but fine," Grace answered.

There was a moment of silence.

"Come meet your son."

* * *

About ten minutes after Wayne went back he came and got Mae and Steven. Finally, Mae would get to meet her cousin.

"Hi Aunt Grace, how are you?" Mae greeted.

"Fine, tired, but fine. Mae, soon enough you will find out what the word 'labor' means," Grace said.

Steven waved.

"Hi Steven."

"Let me see my cousin," Mae replied as she walked over to the bed and took the sleeping baby out of Grace's arms.

Steven came and stood next to Mae.

"He's so adorable."

"Isn't he?" Grace responded.

"Steven, do you want to hold the baby?" Mae asked.

"I don't think..." Steven started.

Mae cut him off by placing the baby in his arms. "You have to get used to it."

After a minute Steven handed the baby back to Grace. Suddenly the door opened and Lisbon, Cho, and Jane walked in.

"Let me see my godson," said Lisbon as she took the baby out of Grace's arms.

"What's his name?" Jane asked.

"Michael," Grace answered.

"Michael what?" Steven questioned.

Wayne looked away.

"Michael Wayne," Grace replied.

"I think it fits him," Lisbon responded.

For the next ten minutes or so they passed Michael around.

"All right everyone, it's not that I'm not happy to see you all, but what I really want to see right now is the inside of my eyelids," said Grace.

"We understand," Mae replied.

Lisbon, Cho and Jane said their good-byes and left.

"Bye Aunt Grace," Mae said.

"Bye," she replied.

"I'll try to come by tomorrow, and I'll call you later," Mae responded.

"All right," Grace said.

"Bye," Steven replied.

"See you later," Grace responded.

"Bye Uncle Wayne," Mae said.

"Later Squirt," Wayne replied.

* * *

After Mae and Steven left Grace handed Michael over to Wayne.

"Could you lay him down?"

"Of course," Wayne answered.

By the time Wayne had laid Michael down and turned to face Grace again, he saw that she was fast asleep. He quietly walked over and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Sleep well."

* * *

**A/N: Only 2 more chapters, plus the epilogue. Wow! It's going to be weird not updating RS anymore, but there will be a sequel and I'm excited about that.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: There is about a 1 1/2-2 month time skip between this chapter and the last chapter.**

* * *

One night Grace and Wayne went out for dinner, it was their first time out since Michael was born. When they arrived home they were surprised to find the front door unlocked. When they walked into the living room the sight that greeted them was horrific. On the wall opposite of where they were standing was the typical Red John smiley face. The baby sitter's lifeless body was on the couch.

"Michael!" Grace exclaimed as she ran toward Michael's room. Wayne was at her heels.

Michael's room was in complete disarray and he was nowhere.

Grace fell to her knees. "_**MICHEAL**_!"

Wayne pulled out his cell phone and called Lisbon.

"Hello," said Lisbon.

"Lisbon, we have a bit of situation," Wayne replied.

"Rigsby, what's going on?" Lisbon asked.

"Red John has struck again," Wayne answered.

"Where?" Lisbon questioned.

"At the house, and Michael is missing," Wayne responded.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm going to call Cho and Jane," said Lisbon.

"All right," Wayne replied.

Grace was crying hysterically; Wayne knelt down beside her and pulled her into his embrace.

"It's all right Grace, we'll find him."

"It's all my fault," Grace cried.

` "No it's not," Wayne responded.

"Yes it is," said Grace.

"Why do you say that?" Wayne asked.

"On the day of Mae and Steven's wedding, Red John called her and was harassing her and I got mad and I called him a ..." the last word was muttered.

"You called him a what?" Wayne questioned.

"I called him a bastard, Mae was right, it did come back and bite me in the butt," Grace answered.

Wayne helped Grace up off the floor and led her to their bedroom.

"Lisbon, Cho and Jane are on their way," Wayne said.

Within half an hour Lisbon, Cho, Jane and Sacrament PD arrived.

* * *

Steven and Mae were relaxing and watching TV when suddenly Mae's phone began to vibrate. She picked up the phone. "Hello."

"Mae," came Grace's voice.

"Hi Aunt Grace," Mae said. Suddenly Mae heard Grace start crying. "Aunt Grace, is something wrong?".

"He's struck again," Grace answered.

"Who?" Mae questioned.

"Red John," Grace replied.

"That miserable bastard. Where?" Mae inquired.

"At the house," Grace responded.

"What?" Mae exclaimed.

"Your uncle and I went out tonight and when we got back we found our baby sitter, the girl next door who is about 16, dead in the living room and..."

"And what?"

"He took Michael!"

"_**WHAT**_?"

"Michael, he took Michael, and it's all my fault."

"Aunt Grace, this isn't your fault," Mae said.

"Yes it is, I was so angry when he harassed you on your wedding day, you were right, this did come back and bite me in the butt, I just didn't know it would hurt this bad," Grace replied.

"It's not your fault," Mae responded.

"Sac PD is on their way, he said he was going to hit closer to home, so we don't know if he is going to try and get you two as well," Grace said.

"All right, I'll see you soon," Mae replied. She hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Steven asked.

"Red John has struck again," Mae answered.

"Where?" Steven questioned.

"At my aunt and uncle's house," Mae said.

"_**WHAT**_?" Steven exclaimed.

"They went out to dinner and when they came home they found their babysitter dead, and he took Michael," Mae replied.

Steven jumped up and locked the front door.

"Sac PD is on their way."

"Well until they get here, go upstairs and pack a bag," Steven responded.

Mae slowly got up, walked upstairs and began to pack. Steven was hovering.

"Are you all right?"

"Steven, you're hovering," Mae said.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried, I mean, you're my wife, and you're pregnant," Steven replied.

"I know that you're worried, but please, give me my space, you know how I get when I get crowded or when people hover," Mae responded.

"All right, is there anything you want me to do? What are we going to do about Snowy?" Steven said.

"I didn't think about her, hook her up and we can put her in the car when PD comes," Mae replied.

Steven went downstairs and Mae finished packing in peace. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door that made Steven and Mae jump. There was another knock.

"Police."

Both of them relaxed and Steven went to door, unlocked it and opened it.

"Are you riding with us?" asked one officer.

"No," Steven answered.

"All right, stay between the cars," said the other officer.

Steven nodded, hooked Snowy up and they got into the car. Snowy curled up in the back and fell asleep. Mae shook her head.

"What about my parents, Amanda, Logan, and their parents, what if Red John goes after them?" Steven suddenly questioned.

"I didn't think about them, we can talk to them about it when we get there," Mae replied.

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at Grace and Wayne's house. They got out of the car and went inside. Grace was sitting at the table crying her eyes out.

"Hi Uncle Wayne," Mae said.

"Hi Mae," Wayne replied.

Mae went over and gave Wayne a hug. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Wayne responded.

"Hi Aunt Grace," Mae said as she sat down next to her.

Grace just sat there with her face in her hands. Suddenly Mae felt a kick and she placed her hand on her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Steven asked.

"Yes, I think the baby woke up," Mae answered.

Steven came over placed his hand on her stomach and there was another kick. Mae stood up.

"Where are you going?" Steven questioned.

"I'll be back," Mae said. She into Michael's room to see if there was anything that Red John might have left behind. "Hi Cho."

"Hi," he replied.

Mae looked around the room and read the note; at first she didn't notice what was holding the note to the wall. "It can't be."

Cho came over. "What?"

"His fingerprints are on that knife," Mae said.

"What are you talking about?" Cho asked.

"That's the knife he uses for his murders, I've seen him with that knife every time except the first time we met. I can just see it, he came up here trying not to wake Michael up, Michael woke up and started crying, Red John freaked, and in a moment of panic, he used the knife to hold up the note and he took Michael," Mae answered.

"It's possible," Cho responded.

"He's slipped up before," Mae said.

"Yes, I know," Cho replied.

"He let me escape," Mae responded.

"Yes, I remember," Cho said.

"I still think you should get knife fingerprinted," Mae replied.

"You know, I think you are going to college for the wrong reasons," Cho responded.

"Oh, what do you think I should be going to college for? It's not too late for me to change my major," Mae said.

"We'll talk about that later," Cho replied.

For the next few nights the four of them stayed at a hotel. During the day Steven and Mae would hang out at the CBI, and in that time Lisbon made Jane give up his couch so if Mae needed to she could lay down. About four days after the incident the results of the fingerprint test on the knife came back. Cho came into the bullpen with the results.

"It's him, the knife belongs to John Albert Smith, and Van Pelt," said Cho.

Grace just sat there.

"We have an address."

They all got into vehicles and took off toward the address. When they got there everyone geared up in their bullet-proof vests. Steven and Mae stayed outside while the team went it.

* * *

The team carefully approached the house. Wayne knocked on the door, and of course, there was nothing. Wayne looked at Lisbon, and she nodded. Wayne kicked in the door and then ran in. They found Red John standing in a pretty much empty room, his back to them.

"Red John, turn around slowly and put your hands up," said Lisbon.

Red John drew out his gun and turned around. In response, the team fired off several rounds. Red John fell to the ground. Jane went over and slapped him. Red John started laughing.

"Though I die, I still live." Those were his last words.

Suddenly they heard crying coming from upstairs.

"_**MICHEAL**_!" Grace exclaimed as she ran upstairs.

"Grace, wait!" Wayne yelled as he followed her.

Grace ran into a very dirty bedroom, there was a crappy crib in the corner and inside the crib was a crying Michael.

"_**MICHEAL**_!" Grace ran over and picked Michael up; she noticed his diaper was heavy.

Michael snuggled closer to Grace. She noticed that he was considerably smaller than he was when she last saw him. Grace held him close.

"Grace, come on, he needs to go to the hospital," Wayne said as paramedics entered the room.

"No, I just got him back, he needs me," Grace replied.

"Grace, I'm sure Lisbon will let you go, let the paramedics do their job," Wayne responded.

Grace just shook her head.

"I'm sorry Grace." Wayne gently pried Michael out of Grace's arms and handed him to the paramedics.

After the paramedics left Grace and Wayne joined the rest of the team

"Boss, may I go?" Grace asked Lisbon.

"Van Pelt, I know you want to, but no, we need you here," Lisbon answered.

"Boss, please?"

"No."

"Boss, I'll be no good here, and you know it," Grace said.

"Fine, go," Lisbon replied.

* * *

Suddenly Grace came running out of the house. She looked around in panic.

"I think you better go over there before your aunt has a heart attack," said Steven.

Mae nodded in agreement. She walked over to where Grace stood. "Aunt Grace."

"Where is he?" Grace demanded.

"The ambulance just left," Mae answered.

"Are you going to the hospital?" Grace asked.

"Yes, would you like to ride with us?" Mae replied.

"May I?" Grace questioned.

"Of course," Mae responded.

The three of us them got into the car and drove to the hospital, on the way they talked.

"Mae, he's dead," said Grace.

"Good riddance," Mae replied.

"And his dying words were: 'though I die, I live'."

* * *

**A/N: All right my fans, only one more chapter. And if it's not too much to ask, could you all check out my poem Twisted Love, I wrote it when I originally posted this story, thanks.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: All right my fans, here it is, the final chapter of Red Summer, but don't be sad, I have a squeal. Anyway, there is a time skip between this chapter and the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this last chapter, and epilogue.**

* * *

For the last week of Mae's pregnancy Grace stayed with her while Steven worked. He came home on the night of the 14th of June and they went to bed early that night.

Sometime later Mae woke up to sharp pain shooting through her body that lasted about one minute. She shifted around in bed and noticed that she was wet. About five minutes later another sharp pain shot through her body, and then she instantly knew it was time. She woke Steven up.

"Mae, what is it?" Steven asked once he was some-what awake.

"It's time," Mae answered.

"What?"

"It's time.

Suddenly Steven was awake. "_**WHAT**_? What do I do?"

"First of all, get up and get dressed," Mae said.

Steven jumped up out of bed and quickly got dressed and he handed Mae clothes to get changed into.

"Can you make it downstairs by yourself?" Steven questioned.

"I don't think so," Mae replied.

Steven helped Mae up and helped her downstairs and grabbed the bag they had set by the door. "Oh darn."

"What?" Mae inquired.

"I forgot to call," Steven responded.

"Call on our way," Mae said as they got into the car.

Steven pulled out his cellphone and called Grace and Wayne.

* * *

Wayne woke up to his phone vibrating. Half-asleep he answered it.

"Hello."

"Hello sir, I'm sorry for waking you up, but this is urgent, and I'm doing this on the orders of my wife," said Steven.

"What is it?" Wayne asked.

"Mae has gone into labor," Steven answered.

"Oh, has she now?" Wayne questioned.

"Yes sir," Steven replied.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be there as soon as we can, and Steven," Wayne responded.

"Yes sir?" Steven inquired.

"I'm going to kill you when we get there," Wayne said.

"See you in a bit sir," Steven replied.

Wayne shut his phone and went about waking Grace up.

"Grace, wake up."

Grace turned her back to Wayne.

"Come on Grace, wake up."

"Five more minutes," Grace moaned.

"Mae has gone into labor," Wayne said.

Grace sat up. "_**WHAT**_?"

"Yeah, Steven just called and said that Mae went into labor and they are on their way to the hospital," Wayne replied.

"Oh," Grace responded as she got up and then she got dressed. "You're going to kill me."

"Why?" Wayne asked.

"Well when you called me at the grocery store yesterday you distracted me from getting something very vital," Grace answered.

"What?" Wayne questioned.

"Coffee," Grace said.

Wayne looked like he was going to explode. Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"I suppose so," Wayne replied.

"Can you go get Michael while I lock up?" Grace inquired.

"Oh all right," Wayne responded.

When Wayne went upstairs he saw that Michael was already awake.

"Hey little man."

Michael was wining.

"What's wrong?"

As Wayne approached Michael's crib his nose was filled with a horrible smell.

"Please don't tell me."

Wayne went over, picked Michael up, and felt that his diaper was squishy.

"Oh Michael."

Wayne laid Michael on the changing table and changed him while resisting the urge to puke his guts out.

"Is that better?"

Suddenly Michael got a look on his face that Wayne knew all too well.

"Oh come on."

After a few minutes later Michael started wining again. As quickly as he could, Wayne changed Michael, again. Before going downstairs Wayne grabbed Michael's diaper bag. Just as Wayne was about to leave Michael's room Michael started crying.

"What?" After a moment Wayne figured it out, he walked over to the crib and grabbed Michael's puppy. "Here you go."

"You owe me," said Wayne.

"Why?" Grace asked.

"Your son, two different messes, twice in a row, and the first one was very bad," Wayne answered as he handed Michael to Grace.

"Well here," Grace said as she handed Wayne something.

"What is this?" Wayne questioned.

"Orange juice," Grace replied.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" Wayne inquired.

"Drink it," Grace responded.

"I'm going to die," Wayne said.

"No you're not," Grace replied as she got Michael into the car.

Wayne opened the bottle and took a sip. "This is gross."

"How so?" Grace asked.

"It's not coffee," Wayne answered.

* * *

Steven, Amanda and Logan were sitting in the waiting room when Grace and Wayne arrived.

"Hi," Steven greeted.

"Hello," Grace said.

"She wants you to go back there, for support," Steven replied.

"All right," Grace responded before handing Michael over to Wayne.

"Is it really that bad?" Steven asked.

"No, it's just that she doesn't want you seeing her in that much pain," Grace answered.

"Oh, and she's in room 2-204," Steven said.

Grace nodded and then she left. Wayne placed Michael in Steven's arms.

"Um..."

"I'm going to go get coffee," Wayne replied.

"Can't he go with you?" Steven questioned.

"Do you want me to kill you now?" Wayne inquired.

"No sir," Steven responded.

"That's what I thought," Wayne said as he left.

Suddenly Michael started crying.

"Oh Michael, no, don't cry," Steven said.

Steven made a few more attempts to calm Michael down, but to no avail. Suddenly Logan pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

"What was that for?" Steven demanded.

"I don't know, I felt like it," Logan replied.

Amanda got up and smacked Logan on the back of the head.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Logan asked.

"For you two fighting," Amanda answered.

Amanda took Michael into her arms and started tickling him, and he giggled. Amanda put some water into Michael's cup and gave it to him. About ten minutes later Wayne came back.

"What are you two doing?" Wayne asked Steven and Logan.

"Nothing," Logan answered.

Wayne shook his head.

Several hours later Grace walked into the waiting room and sat down next to Wayne. Steven looked at her. Suddenly a nurse walked into the waiting room.

"Mr. Walker," said the nurse.

"Yes," Steven replied.

"She's ready to see you now," the nurse responded.

Steven stood up and walked out of the waiting room.

* * *

Mae sat there holding the baby. Suddenly Steven poked his head in.

"May I come in?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Mae answered.

"Are you tired?" Steven questioned.

"Very," Mae said.

"You look it," Steven replied.

"Gee, thanks," Mae responded.

"So..."

"Come meet your daughter."

"Really?" Steven inquired.

"Yes," Mae said.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, but I just wanted to prove them wrong," Steven replied.

"I know me too," Mae responded.

Steven went over and looked at their baby girl. "She's adorable; she looks just like her mommy."

"I see a bit of you in her too," Mae said.

Suddenly Grace poked her head in. "May we come in?"

"Sure," Mae answered.

Grace, Wayne, Steven's parents, Amanda and Logan all walked in.

"Hey girl," said Amanda. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi," Mae replied.

"How are you enjoying your daughter?" Amanda asked.

"Just fine," Mae answered.

Grace handed Michael over to Wayne. "All right, time to pass the baby."

"Really?" Mae questioned.

"I know you don't want to, but you made me when Michael was born," Grace said as she took the baby out of Mae's arms.

Grace got to hold her first, then Wayne, and then she was placed in Steven mom's arms, then she was handed over to his dad, and then Amanda, and then Logan, and finally Steven. Once Steven was done holding her, she was given back to Mae.

"So what's her name?" Amanda inquired.

"Freya," Mae said.

"Oh, the Norse goddess of Love and Beauty, and many other things," Amanda replied.

"Yes," Mae responded.

"So what's her middle name?" Amanda asked.

"Rose, after my mother," Mae answered.

Grace froze.

"Aunt Grace?" I questioned.

She went over and gave Mae a hug. "I think it's perfect, your mother would have been proud."

Mae looked at Steven for approval. He went over and wrapped his arms around Mae. "I love it. All in favor raise your hand."

Everyone raised their hand.

"Then Freya Rose Walker, it shall be."

* * *

Epilogue:

_Yes, he was gone, but he had lived a good, long life, but eventually the teacher must die and the student must take their place, I will take over for him, I will do better. After all he wanted this line to be carried on, and who am I to deny his request, after all, we do share blood. I will lay low, for now, I will let them think they are safe; I will let them have their fun. This time they may have seen red, but when I rise all they will see is blood._

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading this story. Who is this mysterious person?**

**DebbieOz: Yes, it was a bit dark, but that was kind-of the point. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Lily: Like I said before, I have a squeal that I'm going to be posting. Thanks for reviewing!**

**¬Forest Princess**


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